Indian Americans are working to reach out to the new Trump administration and the Congress next year to seek action against the Bangladeshi regime, including imposing economic sanctions, an influential community leader has said.
Encouraged by the recent statement of President-elect Donald Trump on Bangladesh, Dr. Bharat Barai, an Indian American physician, exuded confidence that Trump would act against the South Asian nation over the persecution of the Hindu minority after he was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.
He (Trump) has made a bold statement about the persecution of Bangladeshi Hindus and the desecration of Hindu temples,” Barai told PTI in an interview. “He’s a bold person who might consider economic sanctions if the situation doesn’t improve,” he added.
In Washington to attend the annual Diwali celebrations at the US Capitol, which was attended by over two dozen US lawmakers and Indian Americans from across the country, Barai said community members are actively working to engage the new administration and Congress to take action against the Bangladeshi regime, including potential economic sanctions.
“If their garment exports, which account for 80 percent of their business, are cut off, what will the people of Bangladesh eat?” he asked, alleging that Bangladesh’s caretaker government, led by Muhammad Yunus, is merely a puppet controlled by the military. “It is the army that is in control of the country,” he added.
Barai expressed hope that such pressure would lead to a realization in Bangladesh to stop the persecution of Hindus and other minorities. “We, as Hindu Americans, will also plead with the Congress to act if Bangladesh does not straighten out,” he said.
He also urged the Indian government to take up the issue with Bangladesh and consider imposing sanctions if the persecution continues. “If they keep harassing Hindus and minorities, India should also impose sanctions on them,” he said.
In a statement days before the November 5 general elections, Trump condemned the attack on Hindus in violence-hit Bangladesh.
“I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos,” Trump said.
“It would have never happened on my watch. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the world and in America. They have been a disaster from Israel to Ukraine to our own Southern Border, but we will Make America Strong Again and bring back Peace through Strength,” then said.
“We will also protect Hindu Americans against the anti-religion agenda of the radical left. We will fight for your freedom. Under my administration,” he said.
Barai said a lot of people are talking about external interference in the overthrow of a democratically elected government in Bangladesh. “Even among the Muslims now, there is a split. Some think that the Democrats engineered this coup in their countries, both Pakistan as well as Bangladesh,” he said.
He pointed to figures such as George Soros and Peter Omidyar, suggesting they were part of a broader agenda to undermine Narendra Modi’s leadership and promote Rahul Gandhi.