'No Difference In India And Bangladesh If...': Mehbooba Mufti On Minorities

"Today, I am afraid that the situation which was during 1947, we are being taken towards that direction," PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said

New Delhi:

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's comments comparing India and Bangladesh on how they treat minorities have sparked a huge row. Calling the November 24 Sambhal incident unfortunate, she went on to compare the situation of minorities in India with Bangladesh.

"... Today, I am afraid that the situation which was during 1947, we are being taken towards that direction. When the youth talk of jobs, they don't get it. We don't have good hospitals, education... They are not improving the condition of roads but are trying to demolish the mosque in search of a temple. The Sambhal incident is very unfortunate. Some were working in shops and were shot," Ms Mufti, the chief of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), told reporters in Jammu.

Four people were killed and many injured in clashes in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal during a court-ordered survey of Shahi Jama Masjid. The mosque is at the centre of a legal battle after some petitions claimed it was built on the site of a Hindu temple. It was in this connection that a local court ordered its survey. The local residents opposed the survey and the situation snowballed into full-blown violence.

She brought up a similar controversy involving the dargah of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti in Rajasthan's Ajmer.

"Ajmer Sharif Dargah where people from all religions offer prayers is the biggest example of brotherhood. Now they are also trying to dig into it to search for a temple," Ms Mufti said, referring to court notices to the Archaeological Survey of India and the Centre following a petition that claimed there was a Shiva temple in Ajmer Sharif Dargah. The petition, filed in September, has asked the court to allow worship at the spot again.

Ms Mufti then went on to compare India and Bangladesh on how they treat minorities.

"In Bangladesh, atrocities are being committed on Hindus. If atrocities are committed on minorities in India also, then what is the difference between India and Bangladesh? I don't find any difference between India and Bangladesh," she said.

A huge diplomatic row has erupted between India and Bangladesh after Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das, a former member of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), was arrested from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday. Mr Das, the spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was denied bail and sent to jail in a sedition case on Tuesday. It triggered clashes between his supporters and security personnel, which led to the killing of a lawyer.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has expressed concern over the situation, especially on the safety and security of Hindus and other minority groups in Bangladesh.

Numerous visuals of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh have surfaced on social media. Many shows young people in Bangladesh stomping the Indian flag. In the latest attack, three Hindu temples were vandalised by a mob on Friday in Bangladesh's Chattogram.

The atrocities against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and images of the Indian flag being disrespected there has created a tense atmosphere between the two neighbouring countries.

The BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in a statement called for an immediate halt to atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh. Noting the increasing incidents of violence against minorities, India has said it is the responsibility of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government to protect the life and liberty of Hindus in Bangladesh.