Expressing concern over targeting of religious minorities in Bangladesh, the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday urged the central government to ask the United Nations to immediately dispatch peacekeeping forces to the neighbouring country.

TMC's Sudip Bandyopadhyay raised the issue during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha.

He said minorities, including Hindus, are being tortured and killed in Bangladesh and urged the Centre to appeal to the UN to immediately send peacekeeping forces to the country.

Being an immediate neighbour of Bangladesh, West Bengal is directly affected by the happenings there. In the past too, there had been an influx of refugees, he said.

Bandyopadhyay said the government has so far maintained silence on the issue and asked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to apprise the House of the latest developments in the matter.

Reportedly, there have been more than 200 attacks on Hindus in 50 districts of Bangladesh since the fall of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government on August 5.

Hindus constitute about 8 per cent of Bangladesh's population of 170 million.

On Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged the Centre to move the UN seeking deployment of a peacekeeping mission in Bangladesh.

Banerjee, while stating that it was beyond her jurisdiction to officially comment on the matter, urged the MEA to take up the issue with Bangladesh authorities and if necessary, with the UN.

"If required, let an international peacekeeping force be sent to Bangladesh after talking to the government there to help them restore normalcy," she said.

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