No violence, no lynching': Shashi Tharoor calls for India-style protests in Bangladesh
No violence, no lynching': Shashi Tharoor calls for India-style protests in Bangladesh
New Delhi:
Condemning the killing of Dipu Chandra Das in Bangladesh, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Thursday that protests happen in India as well but no one gets 'lynched', asserting that any 'attempted violence' will and should be clamped down by the police here. The senior Congress leader was referring to the unrest in Bangladesh following the killing of radical anti-India student leader Sharif Osman Hadi.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Tharoor said the interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus needs to take action to bring the unrest under control, as it is their 'obligation'. Elections cannot take place in an atmosphere of 'lawlessness and intimidation', Tharoor said, pointing out that voters are not feeling safe in Bangladesh.
Polling for parliamentary elections will take place in Bangladesh on February 12.
"It's not entirely surprising that with this kind of volatile atmosphere across the border, in India also some groups have organised protests in return. In our democracy, they have a right to do so. I don't think anyone has felt that these protests are getting out of hand," he said.
"There has been no violence, no lynching and certainly any attempted violence will and should be clamped down upon by our police. What we want to see is for the Bangladeshis to do the same thing," he added.
When asked about ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the MP from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor said India has acted in the 'right humanitarian spirit' to not force somebody back, who he is noted that has been a good friend of New Delhi for several years. He said India should allow Hasina to remain here safely until and unless the government has studied all those things in much more detail.
Hasina's government was toppled following a huge students' protest in August last year. She later fled to India and has been living in Delhi since then.
"A very small number of people understand the legal issues, the treaty, the obligations of the treaty, and the exceptions within the treaty. I would leave it to the government to do the appropriate consideration," Tharoor said.
On the issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and Rohingyas, the senior Congress leader said the government has the right to deport those who are illegally staying in India. However, he criticised the Centre and said the borders should be controlled in a better way.
"If illegal immigrants are coming into our country, isn't it our failure? Shouldn't we control our borders better?" Tharoor told ANI
