BJP supporters protest across Bengal over attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh

Supporters of BJP and right-wing outfits on Saturday staged protests across the city and its outskirts against incidents of arson, loot and killing of minority Hindu community members in Bangladesh.

In Kolkata's northern outskirts Sodepur, Trinamool Congress Dumdum MP Saugata Roy had to get down from his vehicle and walk around 1km before boarding an auto-rickshaw as BJP supporters continued to block the Sodepur-Madhyamgram Road.

Similar protests were reported in the CIT Road-Beckbagan area of the city, as well as in Howrah and other parts of the state, with saffron-clad youths blocking traffic for around half an hour, demanding protection for Hindus in Bangladesh.

 

In Sodepur, Roy, who was heading towards the Panihati Utsav winter carnival to inaugurate the festival, was stranded in his car for about half an hour as protestors refused to lift the blockade and allow his vehicle to pass.

Around 100 BJP youth wing activists of North 24 Parganas district burnt tyres on the road and shouted slogans against Bangladesh interim government's chief adviser Muhammad Yunus and Islamist fundamentalists and the anti-India demonstrations in the neighbouring country.

"We strongly protest the barbaric killing of a Hindu youth by Islamic zealots. From the killing of a Hindu youth in public to the arson at Tagore music academy Chhayanaut and acts of vandalism at newspaper offices, it is clear Islamic jihadis are in control of the situation in Bangladesh. Our protest is aimed against this anarchy and attacks on minorities," a BJP leader said.

Roy told reporters, "We all condemn what is happening in Bangladesh. But there is little point in trying to whip up passion and frenzy here in West Bengal - a land of amity and harmony- where the rule of law prevails."  He added that everyone had the right to launch a peaceful movement in a democracy, leaving his car and covering the rest of the distance on foot or by auto-rickshaw.

BJP supporters held similar protests in some other parts of the state, blocking roads and burning tyres, demanding protection of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.