Two sedition cases have been filed in Dhaka against Priya Saha who had complained before the US president Donald Trump that 37 million persons from the minority community have disappeared from Bangladesh. She sought protection for life and property of the minority community in her meeting with President Trump.
Priya Saha’s comment has created a political uproar in Bangladesh. On Saturday, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Saturday said she will be sued on sedition charges. Ministry of Foreign affairs of Bangladesh had termed the allegations as false and motivated.Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said Priya Saha will be interrogated after she returns to Bangladesh. Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader has said that her statement has ‘damaged’ the country’s global image.
Priya Saha is one of the organizing secretaries of Bangladesh Hindu-Bouddha-Christian Oikya Parishad. She was among the five Bangladeshis and two Rohingyas sent by the US embassy in Dhaka to attend the second ministerial meeting on advancing religious freedom hosted by the US department of state in Washington who met President Trump in Washington.
In Bangladesh allegations of discrimination and persecution of minorities have surfaced in the past also. The minority population in Bangladesh has declined over the decades giving rise to fears that many of the Hindus and other minority community members have fled the country. Government has denied these allegations saying Bangladesh staunchly defends religious rights of the minorities.
