The Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad (BHBCOP) has condemned the statement of Home Adviser Lt. Gen. (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury for his abusive comment on the Durga Puja festival.
In a statement on Tuesday, the minority rights group said the adviser must withdraw his statement on Monday, when he addressed journalists, saying that the Durga Puja festivities are all about alcohol and cannabis.
By hurting the religious sentiments of the Hindus, the adviser has exposed his communal mindset in front of the people. He must withdraw his unwanted and offensive comments, said the statement signed by acting general secretary Manindra Kumar Nath.
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The BHBCOP stated that all religious rituals and practices of the Hindu community, including the Durga Puja, have nothing to do with marijuana or alcohol.
On Sunday, the BHBCOP urged the Yunus regime to take necessary and effective steps immediately to restore the fear and crisis of trust in the minds of the religious minorities and Adivasi people of the country.
It criticised the government for not giving any importance to incidents related to communal violence, and denying the allegations as false, exaggerated, and fabricated, while giving impunity to the perpetrators. Hence, the minorities started feeling insecure.
The BHBCOP issued the statement on the Indian governmentโs move to implement the โImmigration and Foreigners Act 2025โ from September 1. Under this Act, India will exempt any minority from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who had taken refuge in India by December 31, 2024, due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution.
It said that this will increase the tendency of religious-ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples to leave the country.
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This is not the first time such hateful rhetoric has been directed at Durga Puja.
During Sheikh Hasinaโs tenure, Awami League Member of Parliament Bahar Uddin Bahar notoriously described Durga Puja as a โliquor festival.โ Following the fall of the Hasina regime last year, Bahar and his daughter Suchona fled to India, where they remain in exile, according to a report by The Weekly Blitz.
Experts said that by echoing similarly offensive language, Yunusโs adviser appears to be continuing a dangerous pattern of demeaning Hindu religious practices under the guise of โlaw and order.โ
Even more worrying is the broader implication of the home adviserโs words. By labelling Durga Puja gatherings as potential sites for drug abuse, the Yunus regime risks providing justification for radical Islamist groups โ such as the so-called โTouhidi Janataโ โ to target Puja celebrations with false accusations.
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