New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday took a dig at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee over her request for deploying United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in Bangladesh to ensure the security of minorities, especially Hindus. Reacting to Banerjee’s request, Tharoor said the West Bengal CM has not fully understood the role of peacekeepers.
While speaking to news agency PTI, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said that it is very rare that UN peacekeepers are sent to any country and the government of the country is required to make such a request.
"If required, let an international peacekeeping force be sent to Bangladesh after talking to the (interim) government there to help them restore normalcy," Tharoor said as quoted by Hindustan Times.
"I am not sure if she fully understands the role of UN peacekeepers. Having worked in UN peacekeeping myself, for many years, I can tell you that UN peacekeepers are very rarely sent inside any country except for the request by any country," he added.
Banerjee on Monday sought the deployment of United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in Bangladesh for the safety of minorities in the neighbouring country. Banerjee also called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the matter. Her remarks came amid attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh.
“These are my proposals. Let the Prime Minister give a statement on the matter and seek UN intervention,” the Chief Minister said after mentioning these two proposals on the floor of the state Assembly as reported by news agency IANS.
Taking a dig at the Centre, the West Bengal CM said that the union government has been silent on the Bangladesh issue for the last ten days. However, she also stated that the government would support the Centre in steps to stop illegal immigration.
"I do not want to speak about illegal infiltrations. This is entirely a matter of the Union government and we always accept the central decisions in the matter. But, the Union government has been silent on the Bangladesh issue for the last ten days. The ruling party (in India) here is demanding the sealing of borders and stopping the supply of food. We can do that if the Union government wants us to do that," she said as quoted by IANS.
Banerjee's statement came days after International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) priest Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested by Bangladesh's interim government and filed a sedition case against him. On Sunday, a senior official of ISKCON claimed that the international peace bodies, including the UN, were indifferent to the attacks and atrocities on minority Hindus in Bangladesh, especially the ISKCON monks.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Radharamn Das, Vice President and Spokesperson ISKCON Kolkata, claimed on Saturday that two more Hindu priests were arrested in Bangladesh.