*DHAKA: *A new legislation approved by the Indian parliament grantingcitizenship rights to minorities from neighbouring countries has created adiplomatic row between India and Bangladesh.

Not only two Bangladeshi ministers cancelled their scheduled visit toIndia, minority communities in Bangladesh such as Hindus and Buddhists havealso rejected the Indian legislation and reference made in the Indianparliament about their persecution.

Referring to harassment of minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh, andAfghanistan, India amended its citizenship law by giving citizenship rightsto Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and Jains migrating from thesecountries.

Speaking in the parliament, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah stated that thepersecution of Hindus has not stopped in Bangladesh, Pakistan andAfghanistan, which has called for bringing the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abdul Momen termed the accusation false. Hedescribed the new Indian law as contradictory to the country’s historicsecular values. He earlier cancelled his scheduled India visit last week.

Home Minister Assaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that while adopting or amendinglegislation was India’s internal matter, allegations about the torturing ofminorities in our country were “totally baseless and false”.

He described speeches made in the Indian parliament regarding theoppression of minorities in Bangladesh as “nonsense”. He claimed that therewas no report of any communal tension in Bangladesh over the past 11 years.

*Minorities speak*

Talking to *Anadolu Agency*, noted film actor and convener of SampritiBangladesh (Harmonious Bangladesh), Pijush Bandyopadhyay, said Hindus inthe country were living in utmost communal harmony.

“Just look at [Muslim religious festivals] Eidul Fitr, Eidul Azha and[Hindu] Sharodio Durga puja and Christmas Day [in Bangladesh], you seespontaneous participation of all people regardless of ethnic and communalidentity,” he added.

He said Bangladesh had a history of living with amity and communal harmony.“Any isolated incident from any part of the country cannot be construed asoverall harassment,” he said.

Praising religious harmony under the leadership of Prime Minister SheikhHasina, leader of the Buddhist community Dilip Barua said his communitydoes not face any persecution, as alleged by various Indian lawmakers,while defending the controversial legislation.

“This allegation of India amounted to challenging the spirit ofBangladesh’s liberation war,” he said.

He accused India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring toturn their country into a Hindu nationalist state. He said due to Indianactions, communal harmony in Bangladesh may also come under stress.

“But through the spirit of real democracy, we will overcome thischallenge,” Barua added.

*Reaction of political leaders*

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s joint secretary generalSyed Moazzem Hossain Alal accused India of engineering ethnic cleansing.

“The world knows well about the deadly communal riots in India in the stateof Gujarat in 2002. The current ruling Hindu nationalist BJP is an offshootof ultra-Hindu nationalist organization, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh whichhas been responsible for anti-Muslim riots in India,” he said.

“In our country, there is no record of communal tension under statepatronization. People are peacefully living here for many generations,” headded.

He said in the northeastern state of Assam, an exercise to detect illegalimmigrants have kept 1.9 million people out of the citizenship list.

“Irony is that relatives of even India’s former President Fakhruddin AliAhmed have been kept out of the citizenship list,” he said.

Terming the religious harmony in Bangladesh far better than in India,Shafiqur Rahman, head of the country’s largest Islamic political partyBangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, said his country does not discriminate betweenmajority or minority.

“We believe that all are the citizens of Bangladesh and deserve equal humanrights,” he said.

He termed the Indian amendment to the citizenship law as “totallydiscriminatory”. – Anadolu Agency