Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh has criticized Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury’s recent remarks about organizing the 'Mangal Shobhajatra' during the upcoming Pahela Baishakh, calling them communal and religiously provocative. The organization’s Secretary General, Allama Sajedur Rahman, made the statement in a press release signed by Joint Secretary General Maulana Azizul Haque Islamabadi and distributed to the media on Wednesday.

In the statement, Sajedur Rahman argued that the minister’s comments reflect an attempt to replace the inclusive 'Ananda Shobhajatra' with the 'Mangal Shobhajatra', which he described as a sectarian tradition rooted in Hindu religious practices. He warned that any effort to impose this on the Muslim majority would face resistance from Islamic scholars. He also claimed that the original name of the celebration was 'Ananda Shobhajatra', first held in 1989, and accused certain cultural groups of renaming it in 1996 for political motives.

Hefazat further stated that while it does not oppose the appointment of a minority minister, it will resist any perceived cultural dominance or revival of what it called 'Hindutva-inspired' influences in national festivities.