West Bengal minister, state JUH head Siddiqullah Chowdhury denied Bangladesh visa

West Bengal Minister and state president of Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind (JUH) Siddiqullah Chowdhury on Wednesday claimed that he was denied a visa by the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission here for a trip to the neighboring country. Chowdhury was scheduled to visit Bangladesh from December 26 to 31. "I had applied for a visa on Dec 12-13 for the five-day trip. I was invited to address a program there, and had personal commitments, too," he said. "But, I am yet to receive my visa. They have neither said my visa application is accepted nor have they officially denied it.

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I have all the required documents and necessary permission both from the state and central governments," Chowdhury said. As head of Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind, Chowdhury is one of the most influential minority leaders of the state and has been a voracious critic of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and pan-India NRC. The state's library service minister said he will cancel his ticket for Bangladesh on Thursday morning. Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner Toufique Hasan could not be contacted for a comment. Repeated calls to Hasan's mobile number went unanswered.

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Several other senior officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission were also unavailable for comment. Reacting to the development, the Trinamool Congress leadership expressed shock over such a behavior being meted out to a state minister. "We are really surprised to know about such a development. It's really shocking to see that Bangladesh has denied a visa to a minister from West Bengal," a senior TMC leader said. 

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