'Focus on your own minorities': India rejects Bangladesh's 'Muslim minority protection' remarks

India on Friday rejected Bangladesh's remarks calling for "protection against minority Muslim population" in West Bengal and instead urged Dhaka to focus on protecting the rights of its own minorities.

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Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We reject the remarks made by the Bangladesh side with regard to the incidents in West Bengal. This is a barely disguised and disingenuous attempt to draw a parallel with India’s concerns over the ongoing persecution of minorities in Bangladesh where the criminal perpetrators of such acts continue to roam free."

The MEA spokesperson said, "Instead of making unwarranted comments and indulging in virtue signaling, Bangladesh would do better to focus on protecting the rights of its own minorities."

India's reaction comes after Bangladesh rejected attempts to link it to the recent communal violence in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district.

Bangladesh's Chief Adviser’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam had stated that the country's interim government “strongly protested” India’s attempts to involve Bangladesh in the incident. “We strongly refute any attempts to implicate Bangladesh in the communal violence in Murshidabad. We urge the Government of India and West Bengal to take all steps to fully protect the minority Muslim population," Bangladesh's CA press secretary Alam told media in the country.

The violence erupted in West Bengal during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act and spread across Murshidabad, Malda, South 24 Parganas, and Hooghly, with incidents of arson, stone-pelting and road blockades.