What is happening in Bangladesh can happen here, says Congress leader Salman Khurshid

New Delhi: Congress leader Salman Khurshid warned on Tuesday that the unrest seen in Bangladesh could potentially occur in India, despite appearances of normalcy. He made this statement during the launch of academician Mujibur Rehman's book, ‘Shikwa-e-Hind: The Political Future of Indian Muslims’.

"Everything may look normal in Kashmir. Everything may look normal here. We may be celebrating the victory, although of course some people believe that that victory or that success of 2024 was perhaps only marginal, perhaps a lot more needs to be done," he said.

"The fact remains that under the surface there is something," he said.

"What's happening in Bangladesh can happen here... the spread in our country prevents things blowing up in the manner in which they've blown up in Bangladesh," he said.

Khurshid’s remarks come amid ongoing turmoil in Bangladesh, where anti-government protests have led to the resignation and escape of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The protests, which began in mid-July, have been marked by immense violence.

At the same event, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha highlighted the Shaheen Bagh protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). "Success of Shaheen Bagh should not be measured on the scale of grandeur of what it achieved," Jha said.

"Remember what constituted the Shaheen Bagh protest...When the Parliament lost, the streets became alive," he said.

Jha argued that the Shaheen Bagh protests, which lasted nearly 100 days and inspired similar movements nationwide, had not received the recognition it deserved.

While Jha praised the Shaheen Bagh protest as a success, Khurshid criticised it, pointing out that many protestors remain in jail and suggesting that a similar movement could not occur today.

"You mind if I said that Shaheen Bagh failed? A lot of us believe that Shaheen Bagh succeeded. But I know what's happening to the people who are associated with Shaheen Bagh. How many of them are still in prison? How many of them can't get bail? How many of them are being told that they are enemies of this country?" he said.

"If I ask myself tomorrow would there be a repeat of Shaheen Bagh and I'm not sure there would be because people have really suffered," he said.

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi criticised the low representation of Muslims in Indian assemblies and Parliament and questioned whether the situation for Muslims would have improved under an opposition government.

"The reality is Muslims have never voted for any right-wing candidate or BJP. Had there been a non-BJP government right now, would things have changed? No," he said.

Talking about the rise of the Hindu right wing, he said, "The Fuhrer (Hitler) did not invent anti-Jew sentiments... it was already there. Our society also had subterranean sentiments."

"We call Atal Bihari Vajpayee liberal... The fact of the matter is Vajpayee and Advani were creating a climate for the arrival of this gentleman," he said.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who was among the first MPs to visit Shaheen Bagh, noted that the protests included people of all faiths, reflecting a broad sense of "Indianness." "Throughout the country, and I, myself have been to seven protests. There were people of all faiths at the protest," he said.

TMC MP Jawahar Sircar defended his party's Muslim representation and criticised Owaisi, suggesting that Owaisi's influence could have led to more BJP victories. Owaisi responded by saying that Muslims are voting for other parties out of necessity rather than choice.

"Muslims have done a favour to your party by voting en block for you. I am not the problem. The problem is your political mindset," he said.

"I can give empirical evidence that your party has not done anything for Muslims. We are voting out of compulsion. Remember when an alternative emerges everything goes," he said.

Agencies