Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is at the centre of a controversy for hosting an iftar meal in Sylhet for Hindu participants with a plater including beef. The iftar relishes provided at the venue did not have any alternative to beef, thereby sparking uproar on social media.
The Iftar party hosted by BNP’s Sylhet unit was attended by at least 20 party leaders and Hindu activists on Thursday, according to reports in national dailies in Bangladesh. The event is usually attended by Muslims and members of other communities, but when all plates had beef along with other dishes, it triggered angry reactions.
Even invited journalists from Hindu communities were reportedly offered beef. Following the incident, BNP’s local Hindu participants took to Facebook to condemn the organisers.
“In the absence of any alternative to beef, I along with 20 other Hindu colleagues had to watch all the Muslim leaders and activists breaking their fasts,” wrote Mantu Nath, a local BNP member, expressing his anger over the invite.
Describing the arrangement as a farce, Kanak Kanti Das, a local leader of BNP’s student body, said, “ You enjoyed your iftar and we [Hindu invitees] were just left gazing”.
Without offering any apology, BNP Sylhet district leaders later acknowledged the faux pas . This has led some to rewind BNP and Jamaat’s proven track record of systematic attacks on minorities.
Columnist and Ekushey Padak awardee Ajoy Das Gupta said the military rulers who had taken over and ruled Bangladesh for 15 years legitim