Published on 12:48 PM, July 25, 2019

Oikya parishad has no link with Priya Saha's comments

Its general secretary says

Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad on July 25, 2019 says it has no link with the comments made by its suspended organising secretary Priya Saha while meeting US President Donald Trump. Photo: Star

Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad today said it has no link with the comments made by its suspended organising secretary Priya Saha while meeting US President Donald Trump.

“Although Priya Saha was one of the organising secretaries of the organisation, but she didn't meet with the US president on behalf of the organisation,” Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of the oikya parishad, said at a press briefing this morning.

“Whatever she told to the president is solely her own responsibility. There is no connection of the organisation,” he said.

Although the incidents of torture and discrimination against the minorities in the country are still going on, it is undeniable that the overall rights situation has improved significantly over the last 10 years, he said.

“For the welfare of the country, we should positively face the problems of the minorities instead of ignoring those,” he added.

WHAT DID PRIYA SAHA SAY?

In a video clip that went viral on social media on Friday, that Priya Saha was heard telling Trump: "Sir, I'm from Bangladesh ... 37 million Hindus, Buddhists and Christians are disappeared. Please help us - for the Bangladeshi people. We want to stay in our country."

She also said there are 18 million minority people. "My request is, please help us, we don't want to leave our country, just help us stay. I've lost my home, they've burned my home, they (have) taken away my land, but no judgment (is) yet taken please, please ..."

Later, Bangladesh Hindu-Bouddha-Christian Oikya Parishad on July 22 suspended Priya Saha.

Later, in a video message, Priya Saha explained her position and tried to defend her remarks tagging Abul Barkat's research findings.

In the video message, Priya Saha claimed that she was a coresearcher of Barkat and she got the statistics from the research work.

Later, Bangladesh Hindu-Bouddha-Christian Oikya Parishad on July 22 suspended Priya Saha.