Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday accused the BJP of politicising the recent flare-up in Bangladesh and told the saffron camp in Bengal to take the protest to Delhi as the Union government is responsible for handling external affairs.

“What is happening in Bangladesh is not a political issue (in Bengal). It is in the BJP’s nature to politicise everything — be it RG Kar or Bangladesh. The BJP is in power at the Centre. They should go to Delhi to demonstrate their valour since external affairs fall on the Union government’s list according to the Constitution,” said Abhishek while addressing media persons on the sidelines of a programme at Amtala in his Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency.

The BJP and its saffron ecosystem have organised a series of protests and programmes in Calcutta and elsewhere in Bengal, attempting to reap political dividends from the developments in Bangladesh. They have been demanding the release of arrested Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das and decrying the oppression of minorities there.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had already announced plans for a “mega rally” in Calcutta on December 16 to observe Bangladesh Victory Day.

“The images emerging from Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh are infuriating. They boil your blood. However, the responsibility lies with the Union government to engage with the Bangladesh government.... I believe the Centre should take up the matter firmly with the Bangladesh government in a way they understand,” the Diamond Harbour MP said on Saturday.

State urban development minister and Calcutta mayor Firhad Hakim also criticised the BJP’s alleged bid to cash in on the Bangladesh flare-up while speaking at a rally organised by the TMC’s minority cell against the Union government’s wakf bill.

“What is happening in Bangladesh is unjust. If the majority community, Muslims, in Bangladesh, fail to protect minority Hindus, it is indeed an injustice. However, that does not justify the BJP’s efforts to instigate people at the borders. The BJP has been using these developments to play divisive politics,” said Hakim, addressing the minority communityat Esplanade.

He said apart from Hindus, so many Muslims were also killed in Bangladesh since the Sheikh Hasina government’s fall on August 5.

Hakim questioned the Modi government’s attempts to undermine minority rights in India, citing the wakf bill as a recent example.

Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee, a key figure in the political opposition to the wakf bill, emphasised the importance of protecting minority rights.

“In India, the majority, Hindus, must protect the rights of minority Muslims, like an elder brother. Similarly, in Bangladesh, the majority Muslims should safeguard the rights of minority Hindus,” said Banerjee.

He argued that in the wakf bill, it was proposed that only five of 20 members of the Central Wakf Council wouldbe Muslims.