"Fundamentalism, intolerance become rampant in Bangladesh", says Pradyot Manikya Debbarma

Tripura Royal Scion Pradyot Manikya on Saturday sharply criticized the interim government of Bangladesh, stating that fundamentalism and intolerance have become rampant in the neighbouring country.

Reacting to the recent attack and vandalism of the ancestral home of Rabindranath Tagore in Bangladesh, Pradyot, who is also the founder of the Tipra Motha Party, said that Bangladesh has failed to respect even iconic figures such as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He also pointed out the vandalism of the Maharaja Bir Chandra Library in Comilla and lamented the disrespect shown to Rabindranath Tagore — the man who composed the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh.

"The country which can’t respect the person who gave its national anthem and contributed to its freedom cannot be expected to respect India either. This kind of behaviour clearly indicates that fundamentalism and intolerance have become very rampant in Bangladesh today. I believe we should raise our voice against the situation that minorities — especially Hindus — are facing there," he said.

Pradyot emphasized the need to consistently speak up against the oppression of minorities in Bangladesh, whether they are Christians, Buddhists, or Hindus.

"In the entire Northeast, no regional party raised its voice when Rabindranath Tagore’s house was vandalized — except Tipra Motha. There are two or three people here who think that Pradyot and Tipra Motha are communal. But I speak for our minorities, and I have spoken out against these attacks. Yet, no matter how much I do, in their eyes, we are the negative ones," said Debbarma.

On the issue of illegal immigration, Debbarma remarked, "There is a BJP government in Tripura, and the BJP is also in power at the Centre. They should take strong steps — whatever Amit Shah has said, whatever the government has committed — they should implement it. If they do not, the people here will express their dissatisfaction. We do not want a single illegal Bangladeshi or Rohingya to remain in Tripura. And if anyone enters, we will not spare them. We will catch them and send them back. But the question is — this is not just the job of the police forces. It is the responsibility of the administration. And the administration must demonstrate that they will not allow illegal migrants to enter Tripura or India," he added.