Reacting to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill being passed in Parliament, A.K. Abdul Momen, Bangladeshi minister of foreign affairs, said, according to ANI: “There are a very few countries where communal harmony is as good as in Bangladesh. If he [Home Minister Amit Shah] stayed in Bangladesh for few months, he would see exemplary communal harmony in our country." His statement is an apparent reaction to comments made in the Parliament, during debates on the Citizenship Bill.
Dr AK Abdul Momen, Bangladesh Min of Foreign Affairs says,“There are a very few countries where communal harmony is as good as in Bangladesh. If he (Home Min Amit Shah) stayed in Bangladesh for few months, he would see exemplary communal harmony in our country": Bangladesh media pic.twitter.com/TGpTDeYahu
— ANI (@ANI) December 12, 2019
"Muslim population in India has increased from 9.8 per cent in 1951 to 14.8 per cent in 2011, while the Hindu population has decreased from 84 per cent in 1951 to 79 per cent in 2011," Home Minister Amit Shah said in Parliament. "Whereas, the minority population in Pakistan has decreased from 23 per cent in 1947 to 3.7 per cent in 2011. Similarly, minority population in Bangladesh has decreased from 22 per cent in 1947 to 7 per cent in 2011," he said, adding India does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion.
Momen termed as "untrue” the allegations of minority repression in Bangladesh by Home Minister Amit Shah, saying, “whoever gave them the information, it is not correct". "Many important decisions of our country are taken by persons belonging to different religions. We never judge anybody by their religion," he said. Momen said Bangladesh maintains strong religion harmony and ensures that followers of all faiths enjoy same rights in every area.
"India is historically a tolerant country, which believes in secularism, but their historic position will be weakened if they deviate from that," Momen told reporters. He said that Bangladesh and India are currently enjoying close friendly relations "that is termed as "golden chapter" of bilateral ties and "so, naturally our people [Bangladeshis] expect that India won't do anything that could create anxiety among them".
According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
-Inputs from PTI
