The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, held a protest march in Dhaka on Sunday.
The BNP also submitted a memorandum to the Indian High Commission in response to the alleged vandalism at Bangladesh’s Assistant High Commission in Agartala, Tripura.
The protest was organized by the BNP’s student, youth, and voluntary wings.
The incident, which occurred last week, saw a group of protesters breach the premises of the Bangladesh consulate in Agartala in protest against the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das.
India has since described the incident as “deeply regrettable.”
The march began from the BNP’s Naya Paltan central office and made its way toward the Baridhara diplomatic enclave where the Indian High Commission is located.
However, police intervened and stopped the protesters in the Rampura area, several miles away from the mission. A six-member delegation was allowed to proceed to the Indian High Commission to submit the memorandum.
The delegation included leaders from the BNP’s youth, student, and voluntary wings, such as Jubo Dal President Abdul Monayem Munna, Chhatra Dal President Rakibul Islam Rakib, and Swechchasebak Dal President SM Jilani, among others.
They presented the memorandum to an official at the Indian High Commission, expressing strong disapproval over the breach and the desecration of the Bangladesh national flag.
Speaking after submitting the memorandum, Munna emphasized that the party does not seek instability but firmly rejects aggression.
“We are patient and believe in friendship, but we will not tolerate attacks on our mission,” he said.
Before the march, BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi addressed the protesters, who chanted slogans calling for a boycott of Indian goods and demanding the extradition of Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, from India.
The protest was organized in response to a statement released by the BNP on Saturday, leading to heightened security measures around the diplomatic enclave in Dhaka and throughout the capital.
