West Bengal Minister and influential Muslim leader of the State Siddiqullah Chowdhury on Wednesday alleged that he has been denied visa by Bangladeshi authorities.
Mr. Chowdhury who heads the State unit of the Jamiat-e-Ulama Hind said that despite following due procedure his application was rejected.
“I had written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and got clearance from her end. The Home Ministry at the Centre also gave clearance on December 12 but I have been denied visa. My personal secretary went to the office of the Bangladesh High Commission for three consecutive days and all he was made to do was asked to wait,” Mr. Chowdhury told The Hindu.
The Minister said that he was supposed to take a flight to Bangladesh on December 26 and participate in the centenary celebrations of a madrasa in Bangladesh’s Sylhet, apart from attending to some personal commitments.
“I am deeply pained at being denied visa by Bangladesh. This is an insult to West Bengal and also to the Government of India,” Mr. Chowdhury, said, emphasising that his visit neither had any political programmes nor any interaction with the media.
A press statement from the Jamiat-e-Ulama Hind has termed the development as extremely unfortunate and unprecedented. He said that he will bring the matter to the notice of the Chief Minister.
There was no response from the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata on the developments. The spokesperson did not respond to phone calls.
