Religious minority rights body Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council on Tuesday said that a recent statement by interim government chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus over the persecution of the Hindus deeply saddened and angered them.
In an interview with Zeteo, a media company founded by a British and American broadcaster Mehdi Hasan, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session on Tuesday, Yunus reportedly dismissed allegations of persecution of the Hindus in Bangladesh during his government鈥檚 tenure as 鈥榖aseless,鈥� the council alleged in a statement.
The organisation described the chief adviser鈥檚 remarks as a 鈥榙enial of truth.鈥�
The unity council鈥檚 central committee in the statement said that during a consultation meeting between Yunus and minority leaders on August 13, 2024, they had strongly demanded an immediate end to the ongoing violence, particularly against the Hindu community.聽
The statement further noted that the UN Fact-Finding Mission Report, dated February 12, 2025, documented persecution of minorities, including the Hindus, that began on August 5, 2024, and 鈥榗ontinued sporadically and in isolated incidents across the country.鈥�
The unity council also pointed out that Yunus himself had previously acknowledged the persecution of Hindus and other minorities in an interview with the American news outlet NPR on October 1, 2024.