Fact Check: False quote attributed to former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia

Hyderabad: A screenshot of a news report is being widely shared on social media quoting former Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia as saying that Hindus and Buddhists in the country should either convert to Islam or go to India if they want to live safely.

The quote reads, "I regret the continuing massacre of Hindus & Buddhists in Bangladesh, but Bangladesh is an Islamic Nation and not Secular. Now, the Muslims are in majority here. Under the circumstances, if Hindus & Buddhists want to live safely, they should either convert to Islam or go to India."

The image also contains the text "This is why CAA" on top.

Finally Begum Khalida Zia of Bangladesh proclaims!! If Hindus Buddhist want to live safely, either convert to Islam or move to India. How frank is that? pic.twitter.com/HqYopp8iXS

— Sandy Boy 🇮🇳(Sundeep) (@ssingapuri) August 18, 2021

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Click here to view more such post on Facebook.

Fact Check

The claim is false.

NewsMeter noticed that the screenshot was dated 20 July.

We found the post on the Facebook page of Khabar 24X7.com posted on 20 July 2015.

We then looked up the domain khabar24x7.com and found that no such website currently exists.

Zia is associated with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. There is no party called 'Bangla National Party' as mentioned in the viral image.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Begum+Khaleda+Zia&oq=Begum+Khaleda+Zia&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512j46i512j0i512l2.952j0j4&client=ms-android-samsung-ga-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

It is also to be noted that if former Bangladeshi PM Begum Khaleda Zia had made this comment it would have been reported by regional and international media. We did not find any such news reports.

It is evident that the claim made through the viral post is false as no such statement has been made by the former PM of Bangladesh.