Bangladesh Foreign Minister hits out at Amit Shah's 'they come as they're hungry' remark

Reacting to Amit Shah's comments that the poor people of Bangladesh come to India as they don't have enough to eat in their own country, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday lashed out at the Union Home Minister. Stating that Shah's knowledge of Bangladesh is "limited", AK Abdul Momen said that such remarks are "unacceptable especially when relations between Bangladesh and India are so deep." "Such remarks create misunderstanding," he added. 

Bangladesh Foreign Minister slams Amit Shah

Bangladesh's AK Abdul Momen's remarks came on Tuesday night when he was asked to comment on Amit Shah's recent comments published in Indian media. While speaking to Bangladesh media, Momen said, “Prithibi-te onek gyani lok aachhen, dekheo dekhen na, jeneo janen na. Tobe teeni (Amit Shah) jodi seta bole thaken, aami bolbo, Bangladesh niye taar gyan seemito. aamader desh-e ekhon keu na kheye morey na. Ekhane kono monga-o neyi. (There are many wise people in this world, some who don’t want to see even after looking, they don’t want to understand even after knowing about it. But, if he (Amit Shah) has said that, I would say that his knowledge about Bangladesh is limited. Nobody dies of hunger in Bangladesh. There are no Monga (seasonal poverty and hunger in northern districts of Bangladesh).”

The Union Home Minister of India has said that the poor people of Bangladesh come to India as even now they do not get enough to ear in their own country. While campaigning for West Bengal elections, Shah pointed towards infiltration from Bangladesh and said that if BJP comes to power in the state, such infiltration will be stopped. Stressing that Bangladesh is ahead of India on many social indices, Momen said while almost 90 per cent of the people in Bangladesh use fairly good latrines, over 50 per cent of people in India do not have proper toilets.

Accepting that there is a shortage of jobs for educated people in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Foreign Minister said that there is no job scarcity for the less educated people in the country. He said that over 1 lakh people from India are now working in Bangladesh. "We do not need to go to India," he added. 

(Image:  PTI, Facebook-@AK Abdul Momen)