The BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh has lashed out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly maintaining an eerie silence on the communal violence in Bangladesh where houses of Hindus were set on fire and temples vandalised.

The violence that rocked Bangladesh during the Durga Puja festival resulted in the loss of several lives and damage to properties. So far six persons have died in one of the worst communal flare-ups in decades in the country, as per reports.

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Ghosh, who participated in an event organised in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to protest against the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh questioned the Bengal chief minister’s “silence” on the matter.

He questioned, “The so-called ‘secular’ government of West Bengal, which runs to Tripura and Assam at the drop of a hat when something happens there, is totally silent on the issue of Bangladesh violence. Are there not Hindus in Bangladesh? They are being attacked by fanatics, maths and temples have been vandalised, women are being attacked, but the West Bengal Chief Minister is maintaining silence.”

“These kinds of incidents have happened earlier also and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken strong steps. The numbers of such incidents have definitely come down but need to be stopped completely,” Ghosh said.

Dilip Ghosh further questioned, “Why the spokesperson of the party (TMC) doesn’t say anything? Are they worried about their vote bank? They only care about their vote bank, that’s why she keeps quiet”.

According to  Ghosh, more than 3,600 incidents of attacks on Hindus have taken place in Bangladesh since 2013, in which Hindu women were raped and temples were desecrated. “When the Ram temple movement took place in India, minorities in Bangladesh were attacked, lakhs of Hindus had to flee from their country and to take shelter in India,” he said.

Appealing to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Ghosh said, “Hindus are also the citizens of your country, they have chosen you as prime minister and are contributing to the progress of your country. Ensure security to Hindus so that they can live in peace in that country.”

Speaking to IANS, Ghosh said, “Everyone knows that Hindu society was under attack in Bangladesh for a week, during Durga Puja. Durga temples were demolished, seers have been murdered, against which protests are taking place all over the world.”

“Lakhs of Hindus have taken to the streets in Bangladesh, this is not the first time this is happening. Our demand is to ensure the safety of Hindus there. The Government should take responsibility for this and should not allow such incidents to happen again,” he said.

He added, “The Indian government has issued a statement on the incident and is in constant touch with the Bangladesh government, which is a friendly country, but we want Hindu citizens to be safe there.”

(With IANS inputs)