Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has claimed that the spirit of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, is still present in Bangladesh. Adityanath has held Jinnah’s spirit responsible for violence against Hindus in Bangladesh. He made this claim while addressing a gathering in Lucknow on the occasion of Mahaparinirvan Diwas.
“As long as Jinnah’s spirit continues to stay, this kind of anarchy will happen. The poor and the deprived are being exploited there. This is the sin of India’s partition in 1947,” he said.
Adityanath’s comments come after reports of attacks against Hindus in Bangladesh emerged after Sheikh Hasina’s government collapsed.
“In Bangladesh, Hindus, Buddhists and people from minority communities are being killed and burnt by the fundamentalists there,” Adityanath said.
“Whatever is happening in Bangladesh is not hidden from anyone…Whatever happened before this in Pakistan is also not hidden from anyone…” he added.
Adityanath also stated that till 1947, there was a huge population of Hindus in Pakistan. By 1971, the Hindu population was 22 per cent, while it has currently reduced to 6 to 8 per cent.
Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh CM compared the actions of Mughal ruler Babur’s general in Ayodhya and Sambhal around 500 years ago to what is happening in Bangladesh now.
“The work that one of Babar’s generals did 500 years ago in Sri Ayodhya Dham, in Sambhal and the work that is happening in Bangladesh today, all three have the same DNA…” Adityanath said at the ’43rd Ramayana Fair’ inauguration in Ayodhya Dham.
Protest erupted in Bangladesh recently due to rising violence against Hindus and other religious minorities. They have demanded the release of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Hindu monk and former ISKCON leader. Das was arrested on the charges of sedition.
Last week, the Ministry of External Affairs too criticised the arrest of Das and requested the authorities in Bangladesh to protect the Hindu minorities in the country.
