‘We will see how they will eat potatoes’: Suvendu Adhikari warns of non-stop border blockade as thousands gather to protest in Petrapole against monk arrest

The protest programme was organised demanding release of arrested former ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das and immediate stoppage of attacks and persecution on Hindu minorities and their institutions.

“India is not just another country. It is the world’s fourth largest economy under the leadership of PM Modi… If they dishonour our flag, we will force the new sons of Rajakars (pro-Pakistan people’s militia) in Bangladesh to surrender like we did in 1971 when we brought the Pakistani military to its knees,” said Adhikari, who was accompanied by BJP leaders and local MLAs Swapan Majumdar, Ashok Kirtania and Arjun Singh. They later marched on foot to the Petrapole ‘Zero Point’ where Adhikari released balloons as a symbolic gesture of protest demanding the unconditional release of the arrested Hindu monk.

The Leader of Opposition also criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for asking the Centre to deploy the UN peacekeeping force in Bangladesh.

“A few days ago, during the anti-quota movement in Bangladesh, when the Hasina government was carrying out repression, the chief minister said, ‘those who will be tortured will get shelter here’. She did not say anything about foreign affairs then. Now, if Hindus are affected, why are they putting the onus on the central government?”

“Today, when Hindus are being persecuted all over the world, the anger of Hindus is increasing in the soil of Bengal also. Mamata Banerjee’s party is also growing discontent over this issue. In this situation, the chief minister is trying to put all the responsibility on the Centre only to avoid responsibility.”

The BJP questioned the chief minister’s will to protect the life and livelihood of persecuted Hindus across the border.

“She (Mamata Banerjee) has her MPs who should raise the matter in Parliament as a reflection of her right political will. This is not a political issue, but an existential crisis of the Bengali-speaking Hindus, and the chief minister should rise above politics to stand beside them,” said Adhikari.

Alleging that Banerjee had mobilised her police to set up barricades to stop protestors from progressing towards the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata last week of which Adhikari was a part, the BJP leader said, “She never bothered to seek the permission of the PM or the external affairs ministry before publicly offering shelter to persecuted Indians during the regime of the erstwhile Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina.

— With PTI