Bangladesh reaffirms commitment to minority rights

Dhaka: Bangladesh has said that it remains firmly committed to safeguarding the rights of all communities and protecting places of worship but building religious structures on public land is not permissible "under any circumstance".

The Foreign Ministry's statement on Friday came a day after India denounced the reported destruction of a Durga temple in Dhaka and stressed the responsibility of Bangladesh's interim government to protect Hindus as well as religious institutions.

The ministry claimed that the temple in Dhaka's Khilkhet area was built on land owned by Bangladesh Railways, and its removal was carried out following due process to recover public land, the state-run BSS news agency reported.

It alleged that the temple started as a makeshift pavilion, with organisers attempting to make the temporary structure permanent despite repeated reminders.

On June 26, Bangladesh Railways proceeded with the "peaceful eviction of all unauthorised structures along the rail track in Khilkhet area," it said.

"While the laws of the land ensure full protection to all places of worship without discriminating against any built-in conformity with law, it is not permissible for any to build any religious structure encroaching public land under any circumstances," the ministry said.

"Bangladesh remains firmly committed to safeguarding the rights of all communities, including protection of the places of worship," it added.

During a briefing on Thursday, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We understand that extremists were clamouring for demolishing the Durga temple in Khilkhet, Dhaka." "The interim government, instead of providing security to the temple, projected the episode as illegal land use...and they allowed the destruction of the temple today," he said.

"This has resulted in damage to the deity before it was shifted. We are dismayed that such incidents continue to recur in Bangladesh," he added.

Jaiswal underlined that it is the responsibility of the interim government of Bangladesh "to protect Hindus, their properties, and religious institutions." The Hindu population in Bangladesh has been affected by a series of incidents against minority communities in the country.