Senior UK Conservative MP and prominent opposition leader Bob Blackman has raised serious concerns in the British Parliament over what he described as escalating violence against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.
He urged the Labour government to press the country’s interim regime to safeguard minorities and ensure free, fair and inclusive elections.
Speaking during a parliamentary debate on Thursday, Blackman said the national elections scheduled for February 12 are being held amid grave democratic concerns.
He pointed out that Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, one of Bangladesh’s largest political parties, remains banned from contesting the polls, despite reportedly commanding around 30 per cent support in opinion surveys.
Hasina was ousted last year following violent protests and is currently living in exile in India
“Hindu men are being murdered on the streets; their houses are being burnt; the temples are being burnt; and other religious minorities are suffering similar fates,” Blackman told Parliament, warning that the situation on the ground was deteriorating rapidly.
He also expressed alarm at what he described as the growing influence of Islamist forces in the country. According to Blackman, extremist groups have called for a referendum that could fundamentally alter Bangladesh’s constitution.
“Next month, there are due to be so-called free and fair elections,” he said, questioning the credibility of any vote conducted without the participation of major political parties.
In a post on social media, Blackman said he had urged the UK government to take concrete steps to protect minorities and uphold democratic principles in Bangladesh. He specifically called on the Foreign Secretary to issue a statement clarifying what actions the Labour government intends to take in response to the unfolding crisis.
Blackman was also among four UK MPs, alongside Jim Shannon, Jas Athwal and Chris Law, who recently issued a joint statement expressing “serious concerns” over the ban on the Awami League and other widely supported parties.
The lawmakers warned that elections held under the unelected, Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, without key political players, cannot be considered democratic and disregard guidance from the United Nations and international allies.
Concerns have also been raised by senior figures within the UK opposition. Last week, former home secretary and current shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel raised an alarm over religious violence and the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.
In a public post and a letter to the UK foreign secretary, Patel described the situation as “very concerning,” citing reports of at least six Hindus killed within an 18-day period and calling the violence “unacceptable.”
Bangladesh has seen a surge in violence against minorities under the Yunus-led interim government, drawing criticism from human rights organisations worldwide.
International outrage intensified after the brutal lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker, who was killed on December 18 in Mymensingh over alleged blasphemy.
Investigators say Das was forced to resign by factory supervisors before being dragged out of his workplace, beaten to death by a mob, hanged from a tree and set on fire.
The attacks have continued. In the latest incident, Samir Das, a 28-year-old auto-rickshaw driver, was beaten to death last week in Daganbhuiyan in Feni district. Police described the killing as a “pre-planned murder.” Samir is the eighth Hindu to be killed since the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das.
India, too, has weighed in on the issue. On January 9, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi remains deeply concerned about the “disturbing pattern of recurring attacks on minorities, especially Hindus,” across Bangladesh, and urged that such incidents be dealt with “swiftly and firmly.”
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