Members of Bajrang Dal take out a bike rally as part of Hindu Samajotsav. (File photo)

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'बांग्लादेशी या तो हिंदू बनें या देश छोड़ें'

MEERUT: Balraj Dungar, convenor of the Bajrang Dal for Meerut, said on Tuesday that Bangladeshis living in India must either leave the country or convert to Hinduism. “Our first demand is that they must leave the country, as they are abusing our resources. However, if they wish to live here, they must convert to Hinduism and adapt to the ways of our life,” he said.Commenting on the recent instances of ‘ ghar wapsi ’ in Uttar Pradesh, Dungar said, “We had been involved in ‘ghar wapsi’ campaigns even during the UPA regime. This is a continuous, ongoing process,” Dungar said.Dungar said Bangladeshis have taken refuge in India, and continue to live here even 43 years after the Bangladesh war. “They now need to go back,” he said. Told that the illegality of the stay would not change with conversion, Dungar said, “At least they will add to our strength in numbers.”VHP organisational secretary Sudarshan Chakra, however, said he would not agree with the Bajrang Dal leader.“Our organization’s agenda does not give any respite to Bangladeshis. As per government statistics, there are around three crore Bangladeshis in India. They must all leave. There is no question of them converting to Hinduism. Because of them, unemployment and crime rates have risen. They indulge in anti-national activities. Despite all that, various governments in the past have been providing them with benefits. They have ration cards and voter IDs. Nothing will legalize their stay in India. They have to go,” Chakra said.Estimates of the number of Bangladeshis in India vary widely. The 2001 Census report, quoted by an online site, estimated that there were 30 lakh Bangladeshis in India. In 2012 Mullappally Ramachandran, then Union minister of state for home, claimed that nearly 14 lakh Bangladeshi migrants had entered India in the last decade alone. In 2007, central government statistics had said there were two crore Bangladeshis living in India illegally.