Bandh against attack on minorities in B’desh

Varanasi: From Kashi, the saffron brigade on Thursday sent out a strong message against atrocities against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina on Aug 5. The Banaras Bandh was successful and there was huge participation in the ‘Akrosh Rally’ carried out.
Except for a few outlets in some areas, even betel shops and tea kiosks remained closed in most markets.The bandh call was given by the Hindu Raksha Samiti and it received strong support of traders and industries unions, as well as the associations of private schools. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionaries and Bharatiya Janata Party too extended support to the call.
National general secretary of Akhil Bhartiya Sant Samiti (AKSS), Swami Jitendranand Saraswati, who led the protest along with other seers like Mahant Balak Das of Patalpuri Mutt and senior Buddhist Monk K Siri Sumedha Thero, said, “Kashi is the capital of Sanatan. Seers and people of the holy city have given out a loud and clear message to the world by extending support to the bandh call and by carrying out the ‘Akrosh’ march in huge numbers. If atrocities are being committed on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh, the protest will spread across the state and country.”
“UN should take note of Bangladesh violence as Sanatanis are the third largest population in the world and they will not sit idle on seeing harassment of Hindus there,” said the seer after the end of the Akrosh march near Rudraksh International Convention Centre in the Sigra area in the evening.
Kendriya Vyapar Mandal, Mahanagar Udyog Vyapar Samiti, Varanasi Nagar Udyog Vyapar Mandal, Varanasi Vyapar Mandal, Kashi Vyapar Pratinidhi Mandal, Varanasi Vyapar Mandal Kashi Pranth, Akhil Bhartiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal, UP Swarnkar Sangh, union of industrialists, and also private schools had already announced their support for the call of Banaras Bandh and few retailers opened shops in the morning. The leaders and members of traders’ unions also moved in the markets to appeal to those shop owners who had opened their outlets to pull down their shutters. The bandh call passed off peacefully.
By 3 pm, traders, industrialists, and locals started gathering near Rudraksh with saffron flags and placards containing messages like “Stop Hindu Genocide” and “Atrocities against minorities including Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs in Bangladesh” in their hands. Patriotic songs and religious numbers were played on DJ consoles arranged to move with the procession. UP ministers, including Dayashankar Mishra Dayalu, joined the procession, along with Mayor Ashok Tiwari, BJP city chief Vidyasagar Rai and leaders of traders’ unions, including Prem Mishra, Ashok Jaiswal, Ajit Singh Bagga, Sanjeev Singh Billu, Pramod Agrahari, Sunny Johar, Rakesh Jain, Kavindra Jaiswal, Anil Keshari, Prateek Gupta, Tilakraj Mishra, Bhagwan Das Jaiswal, Ravishankar Singh, Satyanarayan Seth, Shailendra Sahu, and Santosh Agrawal.
After passing through Varanasi Municipal Corporation, Sampurnanand Sports Stadium Road, Sajan, and Lok Manya Tilak crossings in Singra, the march culminated back at the venue of flag-off.