Hill Voice, 26 June 2022 Special Correspondent: Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Oikya Parishad and Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad have strongly protested the statement of the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dr. AK Abdul Momen. The protest was announced in a press release signed by Oikya Parishad office secretary Mihir Ranjan Hawladar on Sunday (June 26th).

The press release said that according to the news published in the newspaper that the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh AK Abdul Momen had a meeting with India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on last June 22, 2022 in Delhi. In the meeting the minister himself raised the issue saying that there was false propaganda about the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh and the attack and vandalism of puja mandaps. He further said that about 33 (thirty three) thousand puja mandaps have been constructed this year under the patronage of the government.

The trio vice-president of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parisad Ushatan Talukder, Professor Nimchandra Bhowmik, Nirmal Rosario and Acting General Secretary Monindra Kumar Nath and President of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad JL Bhowmik and General Secretary Prof. Chandranath Poddar strongly protested the Foreign Minister’s statement in a joint press release. The press release said that through his speech the foreign minister has deliberately misrepresented the real truth and tried in vain to cover the fish with vegetables. In fact, religious ethnic minorities in the country especially the Hindu community and their shrines have been under attack at various times since the 75s with authentic news being published and disseminated through various media. The actual facts are much more than that.

In this context, it is to be noted that last year during the Durga Puja an “odium procession” was held across the country against the Foreign Minister for completely denying the attack on the puja mandaps in 26 districts of the country. Even after this, the religious and ethnic minority community of the country is very angry with his lying. At the same time, the statement of the Foreign Minister, “33 (thirty three) thousand puja mandaps have been built this year under the patronage of the government” is also a contradiction to the truth. It is to be noted that every puja mandap and puja in Bangladesh are organized by the organizers with their own funds.

Oikya Parishad and Puja Parishad have demanded the immediate resignation of the Foreign Minister accepting the responsibility of such a blatant lie.