West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday expressed concern over the situation in Bangladesh at the state legislative assembly as she urged the Indian government to seek a UN peacekeeping mission in the neighbouring country. spingold

She also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and bring persecuted Indians back home. Banerjee also requested the government to give a statement regarding India's stand regarding the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh during the winter session.

Meanwhile over 1,000 monks from West Bengal staged a protest at the Petrapole border in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas today, condemning attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh and calling for the release of Hindu spiritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das who was arrested on charges of sedition. Protests have erupted across Bangladesh, particularly following Das's denial of bail.

Since the Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government fell on August 5, attacks on Bangladesh's minority Hindus who are around 8 per cent of the population, have increased, with reports of over 200 incidents across 50 districts.

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Addressing the assembly during the first half of the day’s session, Banerjee said it was beyond her purview to comment on bilateral issues between the two nations, as Bengal is only a state in the country’s federal set up.

"However, in the wake of the recent developments and the experience narrated by many people here having relatives and base in Bangladesh, the arrests of people coming over to our side and my conversations with the ISKCON representatives here, has forced me to make this statement on the floor of this House," she said.

The CM, while clarifying that she was out of jurisdiction to officially comment on the matter, urged the Ministry of External Affairs to take the issue up with the Bangladesh authorities and, if necessary, with the UN.

"If required, let an international peacekeeping force be sent to Bangladesh after talking to the (interim) government there to help them restore normalcy," she said.

Stating that there was an urgent need to rescue persecuted Indians and rehabilitate them on this side of the border, the chief minister said, “If required we can rehabilitate the Indians attacked in Bangladesh. We have no problem sharing our ‘one roti’ with them if the need arises. There will be no shortage of food for them.”

Banerjee stressed she wished for harmony, fraternal ties and cordial relationship to remain between all communities living in Bangladesh and elsewhere.

Talking about the arrest of 79 Indian fishermen sometime back for straying into Bangladesh waters, she said "our fishermen still remain in their captivity and are yet to be released”.

"When the Bangladesh fishermen had entered into our waters, we ensured their safe return," she recalled.

Accusing the central government of “remaining mum for the past 10 days” despite the escalating law and order situation on the other side of the border, Banerjee, in an indirect reference to the BJP, said, "Why don’t they ask their central leadership to pursue the Centre to proactively intervene in the Bangladesh situation? Instead, their leaders are demanding closure of goods movement along our land borders.

“They should know that as per international border agreements, stoppage of commodity movement is not in our hands. We can act only as per guidelines issued by the Centre."

Over 1000 monks held a protest at the India-Bangladesh border or the Petrapole border in North 24 Parganas district on Monday morning. The monks, under the banner of the Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti, started arriving since morning at the protest site, about 800 meters from the Petrapole border checkpost.

One of the monks spoke to PTI and said, "We will form a human chain and protest to convey our message of peace to the Indian government and the Bangladesh dispensation, demanding an immediate stop of atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh."

Swami Paramatmananda, president of the Bengal chapter of the Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti, had said on Sunday that the agitation will continue at Petrapole border “until the Bangladesh government takes action to stop attacks on Hindus and temples”.

West Bengal BJP leaders, led by Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, have also announced an agitation program at Petrapole border on Wednesday over the Bangladesh issue. Members of the Hindu Jagran Manch and other religious groups are also likely to join the protest.

(With PTI inputs)spingold

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