India Urges Bangladesh to Focus on Its Own Minority Rights Instead of Making "Motivated Remarks" – Indian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jayswal

India Urges Bangladesh to Focus on Its Own Minority Rights Instead of Making "Motivated Remarks" – Indian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jayswal

According to a report by BBC Bangla, Delhi has responded to Bangladesh’s call for ensuring the “full protection” of India’s minority Muslims. India stated that rather than making “baseless” and “deliberately motivated” remarks, Bangladesh should focus more on protecting its own minority communities.

The call from the Bangladeshi government reportedly came in the wake of a communal violence incident in Murshidabad, West Bengal. Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary Shafiqur Alam stated this on Thursday.

He outlined the position of Bangladesh’s interim government in an interview with the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), saying:
“We urge the Government of India and the Government of West Bengal to take all necessary steps to ensure the full protection of the minority Muslim community,” said Shafiqur Alam.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs responded to this statement on Friday through a post on its official Facebook page.

In response to questions from the media, ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India rejects the comments made by Bangladesh regarding the incident in West Bengal.

“This is a thinly veiled and deliberately motivated attempt to draw a false equivalence with India’s concerns over the ongoing persecution of minorities in Bangladesh,” he said.

Jaiswal also remarked that in Bangladesh, perpetrators of such crimes (against minorities) are “roaming free.”

He added, “Instead of making baseless remarks and trying to appear virtuous, Bangladesh would do better to focus on protecting the rights of its own minorities.”