Ban ISKCON In Bangladesh, Say Islamist Groups | Exclusive From Local Sources

Last Updated:November 15, 2024, 16:36 IST

“They want to purify Bangladesh by removing every Hindu from their land,” said sources, adding such a demand was made earlier too

An ISKCON temple; (right) Moahmmad Yunus. (File)

Radical Islamist groups in Bangladesh are demanding a ban on Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), with a video threatening to kill its devotees, according to local sources.

“They want to purify Bangladesh by removing every Hindu from their land," said sources.

Earlier too, Bangladeshi Muslim organisations had put pressure on the Mohammad Yunus-led interim government to ban ISKCON.

“Two months ago, when the country was hit by floods, ISKCON had offered free food to them, without any religious motive or discrimination," said local sources.

“We have learnt from reliable sources that Bangladesh is totally taken over by Jamaat-e-Islami. All Jamaat leaders, who have been released recently, are fighting for their constituency. In that fight, they are not allowing the government to function normally and are instigating people to act against Hindus, so that the situation flares up. Small issues are being blown out of proportion," according to top government sources.

ATTACK ON TEMPLES

While Islamists burnt down dozens of Hindu temples in Bangladesh, including the ISKCON temple, the Bangladeshi police, in its press conference, had labelled ISKCON a “terrorist organisation". “They had said at the press conference that ISKCON members chant ‘Jai Sri Ram’ which is an act of terror," said sources.

India had in October condemned the ongoing attacks on Hindu temples in Bangladesh as “deplorable" and urged the neighbouring country to ensure the “safety and security of Hindus and all minorities" amid Durga Puja celebrations.

The statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came a day after the theft of a golf crown of Goddess Kali, which had been gifted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from the revered Jeshoreshwari Kali temple in the southwestern Satkhira district of Bangladesh.

Yunus had then visited the centuries-old Dhakeshwari temple amid reports of an attack on another prominent Durga Puja celebration in the national capital.

Yunus said at the temple that the government wants to build Bangladesh in such a way “where each and every citizen’s right will be ensured."

Recently, the interim government, led by Yunus, received provisional approval for its Interim Government Ordinance, 2024, which will give it more powers. The new ordinance will make sure the interim government’s actions between the formation of the new parliament and the appointment of the prime minister will be legally valid. With no fixed term, the caretaker administration will be in power until a new prime minister is appointed by the 13th Parliament.

News world Ban ISKCON In Bangladesh, Say Islamist Groups | Exclusive From Local Sources