B'desh needs to ensure safety of minorities: MEA

India on Friday urged Bangladesh's interim government to protect Hindus and other minority communities in the face of threats and targeted attacks and called for the case of a monk arrested on a charge of sedition to be dealt with in a fair and transparent manner.

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Relations between the two countries have nosedived since former premier Sheikh Hasina stepped down in August following weeks of protests spearheaded by student groups and a caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus assumed office. The Indian side has repeatedly raised the issue of harassment and attacks on the Hindu community since then.

"India has consistently and strongly raised with the Bangladesh government the threats and targeted attacks on Hindus and other minorities. Our position on the matter is very clear - the interim government must live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities," external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing.

"We are concerned at the surge of extremist rhetoric, increasing incidents of violence and provocation. These developments cannot be dismissed. only as media exaggerations. We once again call upon Bangladesh to take all the steps for the protection of minorities," Jaiswal said, in an apparent reference to comments by Yunus and other Bangladeshi leaders, who have contended the Indian media exaggerated reports of the Hindu minority being targeted by extremist elements.

In a written response in the Lok Sabha on a question by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Arun Kumar Sagar, external affairs minister S Jaishankar wrote that the government has taken serious note of the incidents.