There was no talk of banning ISKCON: Adviser Rizwana

INN/Dhaka, @Infodeaofficial

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Advisor for the interim Government of Bangladesh, stated on Thursday that no talks were undertaken to outlaw the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Bangladesh. “The government of Bangladesh did not discuss banning ISKCON. Demands may be made by several. Programs may be used by people to emphasise their demands. During a press conference in Dhaka, she declared, “We are not combining the crimes of organisations with the crimes of individuals.”

After learning that the relevant authorities had taken the required actions, the Bangladesh High Court declined to get involved in the violence issues surrounding ISKCON earlier on Thursday. After hearing a writ petition seeking a ban on ISKCON, the bench of Justices Farah Mahbub and Debasish Roy Chowdhury expressed satisfaction with the government’s response and directed it to keep up its efforts to protect the lives and property of its residents.

Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari, the general secretary of ISKCON Bangladesh, stated later on Thursday that Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari is not ours because he was kicked out of the group. He claimed at a news event at Swamibagh Ashram in Dhaka that the group would not be held accountable for his words or speech.

Chinmoy Krishna Das of ISKCON Pundrik Dham and Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote have been speaking up for the Hindu population in Bangladesh, putting forth eight demands for minorities’ rights and protection.

Chinmoy Prabhu was taken into custody by the Dhaka police earlier this week on Monday when he arrived at the airport to board a trip to Chittagong. Under strict security, he was taken to a Chattogram court on Tuesday morning in a “sedition” case. The court denied his bail request and placed him under judicial detention.

After the jail order, hundreds of followers and devotees of Chinmoy Prabhu surrounded the van carrying him, causing it to stop for more than an hour before security guards used charged batons and tear gas to scatter the gathering.

Chinmoy Prabhu and eighteen other people were charged with sedition earlier on October 30 at the Kotwali Police Station in Chittagong for allegedly raising a saffron flag above the official flag of Bangladesh on October 25 at a public demonstration at Chattogram’s Laldighi Maidan.

After the Hindu community held large-scale public rallies in Chittagong on October 25 and Rangpur, North Bangladesh, on November 22, Chinmoy Prabhu caused a stir in Bangladesh’s sociopolitical circles.