Ban ISKCON, give it no quarter

Demanding an immediate ban on the ISKCON, leaders of the Anti-discrimination Students’ Movement yesterday warned they would not allow the religious platform to implement “Delhi’s agenda in Bangladesh”.

They also said a conspiracy is being hatched to destabilise the country, but the “minority theory” will not be allowed to divide the country.

The student leaders made the remarls at two separate events in Chattogram and Dhaka.

“ISKCON is acting as an agent of Awami League and attempting to destabilise the country. This extremist group is behind the brutal killing of Saiful Islam,” Hasnat Abdullah, convener of the Anti-discrimination Students’ Movement, said at a rally held at the Tiger Pass intersection in Chattogram.

He said Bangladesh is a land of coexistence, and extremists of any kind have no place here.

“We’ll work to protect everyone’s rights. However, no room will be given if anyone tries to operate an extremist organisation under the guise of religion. My brother Saiful was brutally murdered. ISKCON must be banned as a terrorist organisation.”

The rally also sought justice for the murder of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif, urging the authorities to apprehend the killers within 24 hours.

Speaking at the event, Sarjis Alam, a member of Jatiya Nagorik Committee and general secretary of July Martyrs Memorial Foundation, said, “General Sanatanis in the country are peace-loving, but the agents of the dictator Hasina are trying to create an unstable situation by inciting ISKCON. However, we won’t let that happen as long as we are alive.”

Earlier in the day, the student leaders attended the second namaz-e-janaza for Saiful Islam at Jamiatul Falah Mosque in the port city’s Wasa intersection.

In the capital, speaking at a rally in the Central Shahid Minar, Abdul Hannan Masud, chief organiser of the students’ platform, alleged ISKCON is working to implement Delhi’s agenda in Bangladesh at the instructions of the Awami League President Sheikh Hasina.

“But their plan to pit Hindus and Muslims against each other in this country will never succeed.”

He said no conspiracy will be silently tolerated anymore.

“Collaborators of the Awami League are still lurking in many places, trying to destablise the country in various ways. We have decided that wherever they are found, they will be beaten by the public and handed over to the police.”

Umama Fatema, spokesperson for the platform, said that after August 5, Sheikh Hasina’s last trump card was an attack on minorities.

“She wanted to portray that an Islamic revolution was taking place in Bangladesh, that Muslims were endangering Hindus, and that Hindus were unsafe in the country. The entire plot was orchestrated by India.”

She alleged that since August 5 the Indian media has been aggressively pushing the minority issue in Bangladesh.

Criticising the interim government for its failure to address the propaganda allegedly spread by India, Umama said, “I believe it was the responsibility of the government to inform the world that India is running a propaganda against Bangladesh through its media…. However, we observed that the government was lenient towards India.”

She also said that Bangladesh’s peaceful domestic politics is perceived as a threat to India’s pro-Hindu agenda.

“We must remain vigilant in our politics to ensure that neither India nor the Awami League can politicise the minority issue.”

Central Coordinator Mahin Sarkar reiterated, “ISKCON is a militant organisation. We demand it be banned…. However, we must not fall into any traps laid by the Awami League. Everyone must remain calm and patient.”