Bangladesh: US Congressmen Thanedar demands action to protect Hindus
New Delhi: Amid relentless Muslim attacks on the Hindus in Bangladesh since August, Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar has urged the US Congress to act swiftly to protect the minority community.
While atrocities continue against the Hindus, their shrines and properties have been destroyed and they are not allowed to practice their religion and culture, he told the US Congress on Wednesday, the media reported.
“The time has now come for the United States Congress and the US government to act … every possible tool in our hands needs to be used to ensure that atrocities in Bangladesh against Hindus stop right away,” he said.
Since 1971, when Bangladesh got its freedom from Pakistan, there have been numerous occasions where minority Hindus have been attacked. “More recently, we have seen a Hindu priest being arrested and his lawyer was murdered,” he alleged.
Indian-American Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi also urged members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to address the issue of violence against minorities, primarily Hindus in Bangladesh, during the confirmation hearing of Senator Marco Rubio, whom President-elect Donald Trump has appointed as the new Secretary of State.
On Thursday, the White House said the outgoing President Joe Biden was closely monitoring the situation in Bangladesh and the US will hold the Bangladeshi interim government accountable for ensuring the protection of religious and ethnic minorities in the country.
Recently, a large number of Indian-Americans organized marches across the US protesting against the ongoing violence against the Hindus in Bangladesh.
