Shillong, Jun 12: In the wake of reported atrocities against Hindu minority in Bangladesh, the Indian government will take up this matter with the neighbouring country, Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shantanu Thakur told reporters here today.
“Hindus are facing a difficult situation. We are going to request the Bangladesh government to stop this,” Thakur said.
He stressed that members of the Hindu minority community should not be displaced from their homeland in Bangladesh.
Thakur also touched on India’s policy to provide refuge to those facing religious persecution through the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, a controversial piece of legislation, especially in the North East where there were fears that it would lead to an influx of migrants from Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Thakur also said that the central government is making all efforts to plug remaining unfenced stretches of the international border. Meghalaya shares a 440km-plus border with the neighbouring country and around one-tenth of this remains unfenced.
Describing Bangladesh as a friendly nation, Thakur stressed on the need to strengthen bilateral ties through deeper cooperation in trade, connectivity and regional development.
“We have always considered Bangladesh as a friendly neighbour and we will solve problems in the coming days. Our motive is to have better relations with Bangladesh,” Thakur emphasised.
