Staff Correspondent:

India is forcibly pushing Bengali-speaking Muslims into Bangladesh, but it is unclear why the neighbouring country is not pushing ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina back, said BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Monday (July 28).

“She is a Bangladeshi Muslim. Why she is not pushed back in? The criminals who fled to India are not being pushed back either,” he remarked while addressing an event at the BNP’s Nayapaltan office in Dhaka.

Rizvi said people who have lived in India for generations are being pushed into Bangladesh simply because they speak Bengali and follow Islam.

“The [Bangladesh] government should push them back. Why is it failing to do so? In the past, such pushbacks did take place,” he said.

He also alleged that India wants a government in Bangladesh that suits its interests, whether the Bangladeshi people accept it or not.

“Their [India’s] chosen person must stay in power. This is what imperialist and dominating countries do. Sheikh Hasina served as their proxy, and that is why India is now upset,” said the senior BNP leader.

Moreover, he asked the police to take action against anyone committing crimes in the name of the BNP or any political party.