The Chittagong-based Islamist outfit Hefazat-e-Islam has appealed to the government to impose a ban on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon), commonly referred to as the Hare Krishna movement, in Bangladesh. According to the exiled author Taslina Nasreen's social media post on Friday, the outfit raised several violent slogans during its recent rally. 

"Hefazat-e-Islam has called for terrorism. They want to kill ISKCON members. Is ISKCON a terrorist organization that it should be banned?" she said.  Nasreen further emphasised that ISKCON has never participated in any violent activities. "ISKCON exists in many countries around the world, and nowhere does it face such issues, but it does in Bangladesh," she wrote. “Islamists and jihadists who cannot tolerate people of other religions,” she added. 

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Earlier, Sayem Ullah, Hefazat's Central Assistant Publicity Secretary, while addressing a rally in Chattogram, claimed that ISKCON was not a Hindu organisation. "I want to say clearly that Iskcon is not a Hindu organisation. Iskcon is an anti-Sanatani militant organisation," Ullah was quoted as saying by The Business Standard. 

"Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians—all have been living in harmony in Bangladesh since independence. Despite being the majority in the country, we [Muslims] have never attacked members of other religions. But in the last 15 years, this Iskcon was implementing its own secret agenda using the support of the Awami League fascists," he further claimed.

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West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari stated that the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh have not stopped yet. He also warned the militant organisation to face the consequences if they attacked ISKCON. “If the radicals plan to go ahead with the sinister plan of attacking ISKCON, they won’t be able to handle the consequences,” he wrote. 

Earlier, Satya Ranjan Baroi, ISKCON Bangladesh president, expressed his concerns about the attacks on the temples. He affirmed that ISKCON is dedicated to communal harmony and human welfare. “ISKCON Bangladesh is a non-political and peaceful religious organisation dedicated to communal harmony, religious tolerance, and human welfare,” he stated.