Bangladesh party backs CJP stir, ex-Yunus aide seeks Modi's fall

DHAKA: Hardline Jamaat-e-Islami ally and NCP convener Nahid Islam, a key member of the July 2024 movement that led to Sheikh Hasina's ouster as Bangladesh PM, backed the CJP-spearheaded protests in New Delhi, while a former adviser to the erstwhile Muhammad Yunus-led interim govt said he was waiting to witness PM Narendra Modi's downfall. "The struggles of young people in Bangladesh and India are interconnected," said the convener of National Citizen Party. Young Indians are demanding electoral accountability and the protection of democratic rights, he said and asked them to "stand firm, protect one another, reject communal hatred, and refuse to surrender the future of South Asia to fascism and division". "To the democratic people of India: from Dhaka, and from the unfinished democratic aspirations of our July generation, we stand with you," Islam, who is also opposition chief whip in the Bangladesh parliament, said in a statement on X Saturday. "Hindutva majoritarianism, fascism and religious supremacy should not shape South Asia's future." He was joined by Asif Nazrul, who said, "The people of this country have suffered in various ways, falling victim to Modi and his politics; they and their families will find some solace." "Like many others, I, too, am waiting to witness Modi's downfall," said the former adviser to the interim govt under which Bangladesh-India bilateral ties nosedived. If Modi govt fell, things would change - anti-Muslim politics would suffer a setback, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu would lose an ally and inequalities in society might be diminished, he said, adding Modi was facing pressure from "cockroach bites". Islam stressed the stud-ent-led movement against recruitment quotas had developed into an uprising against 15 years of "authoritarian rule" in Bangladesh. He brought up India's history of "democratic resistance", citing the Shaheen Bagh protests and student activism at JNU and Jadavpur University. "This struggle is not yours alone. From Dhaka, we stand with you as friends bound by a common demand for accountable power, democratic institutions, and human dignity," he said.