Protests across West Bengal over situation in Bangladesh, Dhakai sarees torched

KOLKATA: Protests were held in various parts of West Bengal on Sunday over the alleged atrocities on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.

Hundreds of people joined the protest rallies organised by Hindutva groups in Kolkata, Kanthi, Kakdwip, Sandeshkhali and Purulia, calling for the immediate release of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das.

At the demonstration outside the Salt Lake International Bus Terminus near Kolkata, protesters torched Dhakai Jamdani sarees from Bangladesh.

They called for a boycott of Bangladeshi goods, warning that Indians wouldn't remain silent if the disrespect toward the tricolour and attacks on Hindus continued.

"We condemn the continuous targeting of Hindus in Bangladesh and the hate-driven narratives against India. We will not sit idle and with burning the Jamdani sarees, we urge people to boycott Bangladeshi products," said a protestor.

"What kind of Bangladesh is this? The people who fought for liberation in 1971 now seem to be erasing their own history," said another protestor.

Leading the protest rally in Kanthi, the state's Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said 'sanatanis' were united against rising fundamentalist forces in Bangladesh.

"The martyrdom of 30,000 Indian soldiers in the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war has been forgotten by the Islamists in the neighbouring country. Today's rally is a wake-up call to the elements across the border to stop rabble-rousing rhetoric," he said.

When asked about anti-India statements by Bangladeshi groups, Adhikari said that following international protocol and UN guidelines, the Narendra Modi government will take appropriate steps at the right moment.