The Muhammad Yunus-led Bangladesh government has responded to the demolition of a Durga temple in Dhaka, a day after India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) criticised the country’s interim government over the incident in Khilkhet, Dhaka.
In a press statement justifying the demolition, the government said, "The removal of unauthorised structures to recover government land is a regular and lawful administrative activity." It stated that the temple was a temporarily built mandap located on railway land, and described the action as a "peaceful eviction."
"Over the past months, repeated reminders to the illegal land occupiers went unheeded to. On 24th and 25th June, Bangladesh Railways finally asked all to remove all the unauthorised installations, including the Puja organizers to remove the temporarily built Mandap. Finally, on 26th June, following due process, Bangladesh Railways proceeded to peaceful eviction of all unauthorized structures along the rail track in Khilkhet area," the statement read.
The statement further read, "In course of the eviction process, the idol of the makeshift Mandap was immersed in the nearby Balu River, in due reverence, with the participation of the members of local Hindu community."
"The removal of unauthorized structures in order to recover government land is a regular and lawful administrative activity," the government said.
Speaking on the issue during the weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday said, “We understand that extremists were clamouring for the demolition of the Durga temple in Khilkhet, Dhaka. The interim government, instead of providing security to the temple, portrayed the episode as a case of illegal land use and permitted the destruction of the temple today.”
