West Bengal BJP Chief Suvendu Adhikari Says Attacks On Hindus In Bangladesh Explain Need Of CAA

West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari met Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday to raise the issue of alleged attacks on Hindus and temples in Bangladesh, asserting that the situation in the neighbouring country underscored the necessity of the CAA. After meeting Shah, Adhikari told PTI that the home minister told him that the government of India is taking appropriate action on the matter.

Bangladesh plunged into uncertainty after extraordinary street protests over job quota forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to quit and flee. Adhikari, who is the BJP's main face in West Bengal, took a jibe at opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress which is in power in his state, saying everybody will have to acknowledge the need for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

The CAA allows citizenship for persecuted minorities in the three Muslim-majority countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who arrived in India by December 31, 2014.

He also made an apparent reference to migration of Hindus from Bangladesh in the 1971 war, and added that atrocities on Hindus and their temples continue in the neighbouring country.

Adhikari said his mother had left Bangladesh with her parents after minorities were targeted in the country, and that such incidents continue to occur. India has a strong government, and it will take all the necessary steps, he said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that India is "deeply concerned" over the situation in Bangladesh, especially about the status of the minority communities, and added that it is in regular touch with authorities in Dhaka.