Pawan Kalyan Calls for Unity After Arrest of ISKCON Priest in Bangladesh

On Wednesday, Pawan Kalyan, the deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, asked everyone to come together and speak out against the arrest of ISKCON priest Chinmoy Krishna Das in Bangladesh. He urged Muhammad Yunus, the interim leader and Nobel Prize winner of Bangladesh, to take action against what he calls “atrocities on Hindus” in that country.

“It hurts to see how people are suffering there. When something bad happens in Palestine, lots of people react, but when it happens in Bangladesh, hardly anyone says anything,” Pawan Kalyan told ANI.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he called for collective support: “Let’s unite to condemn the detention of Chinmoy Krishna Das by the Bangladeshi police. We urge the Bangladesh government, under Muhammad Yunus, to stop the harassment of Hindus. Our Indian soldiers have given their lives for the creation of Bangladesh, and it pains us to see our Hindu friends being attacked. We ask the UN to step in.”

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) shared its “deep concern” on Tuesday about Das’s arrest and denied bail, asking Bangladesh to protect Hindus and other minorities.

Das is a spokesperson for a group called Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote. The MEA pointed out that his arrest follows other attacks on Hindus by extremist groups in Bangladesh.

In response, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed India’s comments as “baseless” and stated that they go against the friendly relationship between the two countries. They stressed that their courts are independent, and the government does not interfere with them.

Charges Against Chinmoy Krishna Das

Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested on Monday and was brought to a Chittagong court on Tuesday, where his request for bail was denied and he was placed in custody.

According to the Dhaka Tribune, Das appeared before Judge Kazi Shariful Islam at 11 am. His lawyers asked for bail, but the judge did not allow it, sending Das to jail. He faces serious charges of sedition for allegedly raising a flag on a stand where Bangladesh’s national flag was displayed. However, the person who made the complaint reportedly doesn’t want to continue with the case, according to a leader from the minority community.

ISKCON Bangladesh has condemned the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das and has asked the government to promote peaceful coexistence. The organization also made several requests to deal with ongoing attacks on the Sanatani community in Bangladesh.

ISKCON’s requests include making sure that those who attack the Sanatani people are held responsible, protecting the rights of Chinmoy Krishna Das and other members of the Sanatani community, and taking steps to ensure peace and harmony among all groups.