NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed serious concern over the unrest in Bangladesh, saying the violence, including the lynching of a person in police custody, was an outrage and warning that the deteriorating law-and-order situation could undermine the country’s scheduled elections.“Look, it’s a very serious problem because obviously, from our point of view, we want Bangladesh to be stable and calm and we do want the minorities there to feel safe. This lynching was truly an outrage because it was completely unwarranted. There was no question of any act of blasphemy by this person. And he even was in the custody of the police. He should not have been handed over to the mob and lynched in this horrible way,” Tharoor said. Tharoor said the broader street violence and protests across Bangladesh, including demonstrations outside Indian diplomatic missions, had created an atmosphere of instability ahead of elections scheduled for February.
“But the other disturbances across the streets in many parts of Bangladesh, including protests outside our consulates, which we call Assistant High Commissions there, all of this have created, unfortunately, an atmosphere which is not conducive to the kind of calm and stability we would all like to see leading up to the elections that are scheduled for February,” he said. The Congress leader also rejected allegations blaming India for the death of a student leader in Bangladesh, calling such claims baseless and harmful.“At the same time, the unnecessary rhetoric blaming India for the death of the student leader, which is preposterous. There’s no reason why India would have any interest in creating destabilization in Bangladesh. That has also created an atmosphere of hostility towards the minorities, which obviously has raised concerns across the country,” Tharoor said.Referring to protests in India triggered by developments across the border, Tharoor said such demonstrations were within democratic rights but must remain peaceful.“It’s not entirely surprising that with this kind of volatile atmosphere across the border, that in India also, some groups have organized protests in return. In our democracy, they have a right to do so. I don’t think anyone has felt that these protests are getting out of hand. There has been no violence, no lynching, and certainly any attempted violence will and should be clamped down upon by our police,” he said.Speaking separately in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Tharoor said the Bangladesh government must move beyond statements of regret and take firm action to restore order.“What we want to see is for the Bangladeshis to do the same thing. That is, they must curb the violence. There’s not enough for the government of Bangladesh to just express regrets or condemnation. They have to take action because controlling the violence on the streets is their obligation as a government,” he said.He warned that holding elections in the current atmosphere would be difficult. “They need to ensure that the streets are calm again, that people can feel safe again. How can you have an election in less than two months’ time in an atmosphere of lawlessness and intimidation, where the voters may not even feel safe?” Tharoor said.Calling for decisive measures, he added, “We’re urging the government to take matters into its hands. If the police can’t do it, send the army, but stop this nonsense.”Tharoor also stressed that protests in India would not be allowed to cross democratic limits. “And in India, of course, the protests are protests, but they will not be allowed to cross any of the boundaries of a democratic protest. Certainly no violence will be encouraged or permitted,” he said. Go to Source
