Several leaders of the BJP and its affiliates met senior Bangladeshi lawyer Rabindra Ghosh to back his legal fight to free monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, who was arrested in the neighbouring country last month on sedition charges.

Ghosh, currently staying with relatives in Barrackpore, is in India to consult doctors.

The “courtesy meeting” of Ghosh with BJP leaders on Tuesday came at a time when the saffron camp has been hitting the streets in Bengal to protest the alleged attacks on minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh ever since Sheikh Hasina was thrown out of power on August 5.

Rabindra Ghosh, who chairs the Bangladesh Minority Watch and is a senior lawyer at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, has appeared twice at Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court seeking bail for Das.

Soon after he arrived in Barrackpore on Monday for his treatment at AIIMS-Kalyani, Ghosh found himself in the centre of political attention in Bengal.

The news of his stay prompted visits by BJP leaders Arjun Singh and Kaustav Bagchi, as well as Kartik Maharaj, a monk associated with the Bharat Sevashram Sangha on Tuesday.

BJP leaders termed their meeting as a “courtesy call” to express solidarity with Ghosh’s fight for justice. However, the Trinamool Congress and the CPM accused the saffron camp of attempting to exploit the unrest in Bangladesh for political gain with an eye on the 2026 Assembly polls in Bengal.

Asked about his chat with Ghosh, BJP leader Bagchi said the Bangladeshi lawyer, who faced assault both inside and outside the Chittagong court for defending Das, was defiant in his resolve to seek the release of the monk.

“It is a privilege for us to pay him respect and stand with him,” said Bagchi, also a lawyer.

Senior BJP leader and former Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh praised Ghosh’s resilience.

“I salute him for standing tall and fighting for the rights of Hindus in Bangladesh. We are also striving to protect the same rights for Hindus on this side of the border,” Singh said after the meeting.

Kartik Maharaj, who spent around 30 minutes speaking to Ghosh, echoed the sentiment.

“Rabindra Ghosh’s courage to defend a Hindu monk at his age is truly inspiring. Das’s only crime is to try to unite minorities of different faiths under one umbrella. If justice is denied to Das, Bengal’s entire legal fraternity will take to the streets in protest,” Maharaj said.

Reacting sharply to the meetings, a senior Trinamool leader in Calcutta accused the BJP of opportunism.

“We respect any fight for justice, but we will not allow the BJP or its affiliates to exploit the unrest in Bangladesh to foment religious tension here,” the leader said.

The CPM weighed in, accusing the BJP of stoking communal divisions.
“The BJP in Bengal mirrors the fundamentalists in Bangladesh. They are orchestrating a larger conspiracy to create unrest and polarise the electorate. We will resist this divisive ploy,” said a CPM state secretariat member.

Ghosh said he was a human rights advocate. “I came here for medical treatment. It feels good that many people have expressed their support and respect, including political leaders, but I am not a politician. My sole focus is on justice,” Ghosh said.

"The situation in Bangladesh is dire. The government of India must step forward to protect human rights in Bangladesh," he added.