Thackeray to Centre: Take immediate steps to protect Hindus in strife-torn Bangladesh

New Delhi/Mumbai, Aug 7 (IANS) Maharashtra’s former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) President, Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take immediate measures to protect Hindus in violence-ravaged Bangladesh. 

Speaking to media-persons in the national Capital, Uddhav Thackeray – flanked by MP Sanjay Raut and MLA Aditya Thackeray – said that the Indian government has given refuge to the former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina Wazed, currently in New Delhi.

Accordingly, it is also India’s responsibility to ensure the safety of all the Hindus who may be targeted in the neighbouring country, rocked by political strife since the past three days after the Bangladesh ex-PM Wazed was forced to flee from Dhaka on August 5.

“The Bangladesh situation is akin to the problems in Kashmir and Manipur. If Modi and Shah cannot go to Manipur, show courage and at least go to Bangladesh now to ensure the well-being of our Hindus there, and stop the violence in that country,” said Thackeray.

The SS(UBT) chief said that violent mass uprising in Bangladesh “should serve as a lesson to all rulers that the peoples’ power is supreme in a democracy”, and the world has witnessed upheavals like this in Israel and Sri Lanka in the recent past.

“The common masses have a limit of tolerance to their sufferings… Then they will deliver their verdict… It happened in Bangladesh. Such things can happen anywhere, anytime… Hence, the people in power must take serious note of this and not consider themselves as above god,” said Thackeray.

To a query on the simmering reservations issue in Maharashtra, Thackeray reiterated that action on such sensitive matters should be taken in time and must be done by Parliament itself.

He even drew parallels to the scenario in Bangladesh – rocked by a quota row - with the farmers’ protests in India and how the protestors were labelled as anti-nationals and terrorists.

Thackeray said that late PM Indira Gandhi had secured Independence for Bangladesh from the (undivided) Pakistan in 1971, so now it’s also the duty of PM Modi to safeguard the interests of our Hindus there in the current milieu.

At present on a three-day tour to New Delhi, the SS (UBT) chief said that this was his first visit to the national Capital after the Lok Sabha elections to meet the INDIA bloc leaders.

“There has been no INDIA bloc meeting post-LS polls, so I have come to meet all their leaders who are here for the Parliament session. We are in regular contact with each other on telephone and the Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders also meet frequently in Mumbai,” said Thackeray.

--IANS

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