'No visas, no trade...': BJP's Suvendu threatens border blockade over Hindu persecution in Bangladesh

BJP's top leader in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday urged the central government to halt the issuance of visas to Bangladeshi nationals and suspend trade with the neighboring country until the release of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari. Addressing the media after leading a deputation to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, Adhikari demanded immediate action against the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.

"You know how Hindus are tortured there (Bangladesh). This kind of torture cannot go on. Prabhu Chinmoy Krishna Das has not done anything wrong. We want his immediate release. He has been slapped with false cases. This cannot be allowed. Enough is enough," said Adhikari.  

Chinmoy Krishna Das, spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday while traveling to Chattogram for a rally. A Chattogram court denied him bail and sent him to jail on Tuesday in a sedition case.  

Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, led seven BJP MLAs, mostly from the state's border areas, in a rally from Rabindra Sadan to the Deputy High Commission office. A deputation was submitted, demanding Das's release and an end to alleged atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh.  

"Stop issuing visas to Bangladeshis completely. Also, stop issuance of permits for export and import. We will wait for a day and launch a blockade at the India-Bangladesh border at Petrapole in North 24 Parganas district if these incidents of alleged torture are not stopped,” Adhikari warned.  

The BJP has also announced plans to hold a mega rally in Kolkata on December 16, coinciding with Bangladesh's Victory Day (Bijoy Diwas), which marks the country's independence following the 1971 Liberation War. The rally will protest against the alleged targeting of minorities in Bangladesh.

Adhikari presented video footage on his mobile phone, claiming it showed a Bangladeshi cabinet minister raising anti-India slogans. "India and Bangladesh have a very good relationship. But there are attempts to develop an anti-India sentiment there by the current regime, which was never there earlier," he alleged.

Criticising the influx of Bangladeshi nationals seeking medical treatment in India, Adhikari added, "Don't come here for treatment. Go to Karachi or Lahore."

The saffron leader also announced that the Hindu Jagran Manch would hold a protest march from Sealdah to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission office on Thursday. A large police contingent was deployed outside the Deputy High Commission during the rally led by Adhikari and BJP MLAs.