Protests are happening in Delhi at the Directive of Bangladesh: West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh
BJP leader and West Bengal Minister of Panchayat and Rural Development, Dilip Ghosh, says Bangladesh is behind the protests in Delhi. He also alleged foreign funding and an anti-national conspiracy, but the report offered no evidence for those claims.
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In a Nutshell
- After Mamata Banerjee joined the Delhi protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in India’s voter list revision, Ghosh mocked her, saying she could go to Bangladesh, where protests were taking place.
- He said that protests are taking place in Delhi at the Directive of Bangladesh and alleged foreign funding and an anti-national conspiracy behind the Cockroach Janta Party-led protests.
- However, the report provides no evidence on how and why Bangladesh directed, funded or organised the Delhi protests.
Context
Delhi’s protests focus on India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with protesters alleging that eligible voters have been removed, while the Election Commission says the exercise is intended to correct voter lists.
After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee joined the protests and was detained, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh dismissed her participation as an attempt to stay in the news. He then pointed to protests in Bangladesh, telling her to go there too, and alleged that the Delhi movement involved foreign funding and anti-national forces. His comments cast Bangladesh as connected to the Delhi unrest, but the report presents no evidence to support that implication.
Why It Matters
Ghosh’s remarks might be an attempt to shift attention from India’s disputed voter lists to an allegation against Bangladesh. He also specifically mentioned some social media posts of a few Bangladeshi ministers, yet he identifies neither the ministers whose posts he cites nor any evidence connecting those posts to the organisation or funding of the protests.
What We Think
Social media posting and directing a movement are different things. Blaming another country does nothing to shift the focus away from the voter-rights questions driving these protests. Nevertheless, a famous saying goes like, “revolution is contagious.”