News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 9th December 2024
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday mocked Bangladeshi MPs who claimed the country has legal rights to Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha, asking whether Indians “would have lollipop” if external forces attempted to grab Indian regions.
Speaking in the West Bengal Assembly, she advised people to be cool and not be angered by statements made in Bangladesh, saying that West Bengal will always support whatever decision made by the Centre. She mocked several Bangladeshi officials who had previously made offensive statements, saying, “Stay calm, healthy, and have peace of mind.”
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) recently stated at a public conference in Dhaka that the country had legitimate claims to Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha.She urged people in West Bengal to remain calm and not be persuaded by aggressive words made by individuals in Bangladesh, saying, “In our state, even imams have condemned the comments and attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.”
“The same blood flows in the veins of Hindus and Muslims and all other communities. We must all work together to ensure nothing is done to aggravate the situation in West Bengal,” she said.
“West Bengal is the first state in the country where people irrespective of caste, creed or community staged collective protest against the situation in Bangladesh,” the chief minister said. Asking everyone, including her political rivals, not to do anything that might aggravate the situation, she also urged media houses to act responsibly while commenting on the situation in the neighbouring country.
“West Bengal is not Uttar Pradesh that we will ban your telecast. But act responsibly in the interest of West Bengal and its people. If trouble breaks out here, will it not affect you? Similarly, if the situation worsens in Bangladesh, it will affect our relatives and friends there. Hence please maintain restraint while commenting on the situation,” she said.
The West Bengal chief minister stated that her government and party, the Trinamool Congress, will respect the norms of the Ministry of External Affairs and will not talk out of turn.Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with his Bangladeshi colleague Mohammad Jashim Uddin on Monday, following poor bilateral relations since August’s overthrow of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Misri landed in Dhaka early today on an Indian Air Force plane for a day-long visit, officials said. It is New Delhi’s first high-level visit since August, when a huge upheaval ended Hasina’s 15-year leadership.
