Government Will Provide Maximum Security for Prabarana and Kathin Chibar Dan; Strict Surveillance for Durga Puja: Home Minister
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said the government will provide all-out cooperation and maximum security measures for Prabarana Purnima, one of the main religious festivals of Buddhists to be held on October 25, and for the month-long Kathin Chibar Dan festival that follows. The assurance came from the Home Ministry.
He made the remarks as chief guest at a views-exchange meeting with Buddhist religious leaders on Monday afternoon (October 19) at the Home Ministry conference room at the Secretariat, held on the occasion of Prabarana Purnima and Kathin Chibar Dan.
The minister said protecting religious harmony in the country and ensuring that people of all religions can observe their own religious festivals safely is one of the government's main constitutional responsibilities.
He said that under Article 28 of the Constitution, there is no scope for any discrimination on the basis of religion in Bangladesh. Every citizen of the state has the constitutional right to observe religious ceremonies and worship freely and safely. The government is committed to maintaining peace and law and order while respecting constitutional obligations and citizens' rights.
The minister said strict surveillance instructions have been given so that no unpleasant situation or deterioration of law and order occurs in different parts of the country centring on Prabarana Purnima and especially the evening lantern-flying festival. He particularly mentioned Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, the three hill districts of Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban, and the plains regions of Patuakhali, Cumilla, Noakhali and Rangpur.
On Durga Puja security, the minister said surveillance has been strengthened at puja pavilions during the ongoing Durga Puja, including through body-worn cameras, CCTV cameras and app-based monitoring.
He said the situation is being monitored round the clock through the police monitoring cell. If anyone tries to create disorder anywhere, no one will be spared and no one will get away with wrongdoing.
Noting that attempts are being made to destroy religious harmony by spreading rumours and false information on social media, the minister urged everyone not to pay heed to rumours.
He said attempts are made to portray internal minor personal, place-related or management-committee disputes as religious attacks and to carry out propaganda, which will be resisted strictly. He expressed hope that just as the ongoing Durga festival is being held in a highly festive and safe environment, Prabarana Purnima and Kathin Chibar Dan will also be celebrated peacefully and with splendour in the same way.
Buddhist religious leaders present at the meeting highlighted the significance of Prabarana Purnima, restraint, purification of mind and consciousness, and the sanctity of the traditional lantern flying and Kathin Chibar Dan. The leaders said a list of Buddhist monasteries across the country will be handed over to the minister.
The minister said that once the list is received, it will be sent to the relevant law-enforcement agencies and local administration for necessary action.
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister's Special Assistant (with the rank of state minister) for Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and ethnic minority affairs Bijan Kanti Sarkar, International Buddhist Monastery principal Dharmamitra Mahathero, Bodhigyan Meditation Centre principal Asin Jin Rakshit Mahathero, Uttara Mahabihara principal Muditapal Bhikkhu, Dharmarajik Mahabihara deputy principal Swarupananda Bhikkhu, and other Buddhist religious leaders and distinguished persons.
By announcing the security plan for the next major religious festival while Durga Puja is still under way, the government has made clear that harmony and security throughout the festival season are now the administration's main priority. Attention will now be on field-level preparations for Prabarana Purnima on October 25 and the month-long Kathin Chibar Dan that follows.
