West Bengal minister and state president of Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind Siddiqullah Chowdhury has been denied visa by the Bangladesh government to visit the country. This development comes after Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan cancelled their visits to India following the massive protests that erupted across the country following the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in Parliament. Speaking to The Indian Express, Chowdhury said he had applied for a visa 10 days ago and had booked his tickets in advance as well. However, on Wednesday Siddiqullah Chowdhury was informed that his visa had been denied without citing a reason. "Being a minister, I had to take necessary permission from the Centre and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to visit any foreign country. I had got the NOC from the Centre and permission from Banerjee as well. Now, I have learnt the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission has denied me a visa. It is very unfortunate as both countries share a good relation. I will take up this matter with the CM," Chowdhury said. Officials at Bangladesh Deputy High Commission were not available for comment. Chowdhury had applied for a Bangladesh visa to attend a function at Sylhet madrasa along with his wife, daughter and granddaughter. Recently, while speaking at a Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind rally in Esplanade, Chowdhury threatened to stop Union Home Minister Amit Shah from stepping out of the Kolkata airport whenever he visits the city if the CAA was not withdrawn immediately. “We may not allow him (Shah) to step out of the city airport if necessary. We may gather one lakh people there to stop him unless the CAA is withdrawn,” he had said.
