'Boycott India': Thousands protest in Bangladesh against Nupur Sharma's remark on Prophet Mohammad

The Islamists in Bangladesh also called upon all to boycott Indian products. Pro-Pakistan political parties also held demonstrations.

Dhaka: Bangladesh on Friday saw massive protests over the controversial remarks made by suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma on Prophet Muhammad and calls for a total boycott of Indian products across the country. According to reports, hundreds of political workers and Islamists of Islami Andolon Bangladesh (IAB), Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh and Islami Oikyajote took to the streets after Friday prayers and demonstrated against the remarks on Prophet Mohammad made by BJP leaders.

The Islamists also called upon all to boycott Indian products. Pro-Pakistan political parties also held demonstrations. IAB chief and Charmonai Pir, Syed Rezaul Karim, who is deemed a 1971 war criminal, would lead the next mass procession, said the protesters.

At the protest at the south gate of the national mosque at Baitul Mukarram, IAB leaders said they would take out a mass procession towards the Indian High Commission in Dhaka and submit a memorandum if those who made comments on the Prophet are not brought to justice. 

They also demanded a protest motion be taken in the Parliament censuring the remarks of BJP leaders. More than a hundred groups of Islamists staged demonstrations countrywide, including by blocking the Nabinagar-Chandra Highway. In Chittagong, the Islamists organised a protest rally in Chawkbazar, Anderkilla, Hathazari, and other areas.

In Narayanganj, protesters under the banner of "Narayanganj Ulema Parishad" brought out the procession on the premises of DIT Railway Mosque in the city. Speakers at the demonstration called upon the government to take diplomatic steps and condemn the remarks.

Protests were also reported from Pabna, Manikganj, and Khulna.

Back in India, several states including Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Punjab, Hyderabad, West Bengal, J&K and Gujarat faced massive protests against the BJP leader`s controversial remarks. During the protests, several policemen were injured in stone-pelting incidents, which forced the security forces to resort to lathi-charge, tear gas shelling and firing in the air at some places.

Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry today asked the police heads of states and Union Territories to be “prepared and alert” as they will be on target. The Home Ministry issued a statement to all state and Union Territory police after several incidents of violence were reported from different parts of the country over the controversial remarks of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma and expelled leader Naveen Jindal against Prophet Muhammad.