Lobbyists probably influenced Trump, says press secretary says over minority attack comments
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Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam has remarked that US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s accusations of brutal attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh may have been influenced by lobbyists.
According to bdnews24.com, he claimed that the results of the US presidential election would not affect the relations between the two countries.
The press secretary made the comments while speaking as chief guest at the ‘Shadow Parliament’ organised by Debate for Democracy at the FDC premises on Saturday.
The topic of the debate was “Upcoming US election results will not have any impact on Bangladesh’s politics.”
“Donald Trump’s statement on the persecution of minorities in Bangladesh is an entirely domestic political issue. Lobbyists may have influenced this,” said Shafiqul.
He added: “Per the report given by the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Council in Bangladesh, it can be understood that the death of nine minorities in Bangladesh was caused by a political motive rather than a religious one.”
In a post on the microblogging site X on Oct 31, Trump said: "I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos."
He claimed that such incidents would not occur if he were in power, criticising Democratic presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.
YUNUS HAS CLOSE TIES WITH BOTH PARTIES IN US
While speaking at the event, Shafiqul stated: “The [chief advisor] has a very good relationship with the senior leaders of both the Democratic and Republican parties. He has friends in both groups.”
“Dr Yunus is a global leader. So, there will be no challenge in our relationship if Kamala Harris or Donald Trump wins the US election.”
The press secretary also claimed that the government has a good relations with India.
“We want to maintain our good relations with them [India],” he added.