Bangladeshi Islamic preachers will no longer be allowed to enter India’s West Bengal state to deliver religious sermons, West Bengal Chief Minister Shuvendu Adhikari has said, according to Bangladesh-based news outlets.
Adhikari made the remarks on September 12, saying that although Islamic preachers from Bangladesh had previously been allowed to visit West Bengal under earlier Indian governments, such permission would no longer be granted under the current BJP government.
According to Adhikari, about two years ago, during an Islamic religious gathering in Basirhat, West Bengal, a Bangladeshi religious preacher said that although the United States possessed nuclear weapons, “we could destroy even nuclear weapons through population growth.”
Adhikari also alleged that a Bangladeshi religious preacher had visited West Bengal and spoken about changing the demographic composition of the state through population growth.
The remarks indicate that the West Bengal government has raised concerns over the entry of Bangladeshi religious preachers into the state, particularly in relation to security and demographic issues.
Adhikari also claimed that after political changes took place in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was removed from power, Muslims in Bangladesh had been persecuting Hindus.
However, the claims regarding demographic changes and persecution of Hindus are statements made by Shuvendu Adhikari, and the information provided does not include independent verification of those claims.
Source: Southeast Asia Journal
