New Delhi, Feb 7 (UNI) India on Friday evening summoned the Bangladesh Acting High Commissioner to protest the statements emanating from Dhaka that “continue to portray India negatively”.
In an apparent tit-for-tat move, a day after Bangladesh summoned India’s Acting High Commissioner Pawan Badhe to protest ex-PM Sheikh Hasina’s address to her supporters, India said it has no role to play in the statement attributed to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a statement said while India will make efforts for a mutually beneficial relationship with the interim government it expects Bangladesh to reciprocate similarly “without vitiating the atmosphere”.
The statement read:
“The Bangladesh Acting High Commissioner to India, Mr. Md. Nural Islam, was summoned by MEA to the South Block today, February 7, 2025, at 5:00 pm.
“It was conveyed that India desires a positive, constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with Bangladesh, which has been reiterated several times in recent high-level meetings.
“It is, however, regrettable that regular statements made by Bangladesh authorities continue to portray India negatively, holding us responsible for internal governance issues. These statements by Bangladesh are in fact responsible for the persistent negativity.
“Comments attributed to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have been made in her individual capacity in which India has no role to play. Conflating this with the Government of India’s position is not going to help add positivity to bilateral relations.
“While the Government of India will make efforts for a mutually beneficial relationship we expect that Bangladesh will reciprocate similarly without vitiating the atmosphere.”
India’s action came a day after Bangladesh’s army-backed interim government summoned Indian Acting High Commissioner Pawan Badhe to lodge a strong protest against the “false and fabricated statements” made by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is sheltered in India.
The Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over a protest note to the Indian diplomat a day after Hasina’s audio statement was aired on social media.
The Bangladesh foreign ministry said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a strong protest with the Government of India over the false and fabricated comments and statements continuously being made in different platforms including social media, by the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, instigating instability in Bangladesh.”
The ministry also emphasised that such activities by her, were considered as a hostile act towards Bangladesh and were not conducive to the efforts at establishing a healthy relationship between the two countries.
The foreign ministry requested the Indian government to immediately take appropriate measures, to stop her from making such false, fabricated and incendiary statements using social media and other communications while she is in India.
Sheikh Hasina, also president of AL, fled to India for shelter amid a student led mass uprising on August 5, 2024.
India’s summoning of the Bangladesh diplomat comes less than 24 hours after it protested the destruction of the historic residence of Bangladesh’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rehman in Dhaka by protesters, and said it was a symbol of the heroic resistance of the people of Bangladesh “against the forces of occupation and oppression”.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said:
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman house in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi’s Road No. 32 was demolished by demonstrators, in a demolition drive dubbed the ‘Bulldozer March’,
Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina’s residence Sudha Sadan was also set on fire on Dhanmondi Road No. 5.
Outside Dhaka, homes of Hasina’s relatives and Awami League leaders, as well as various sculptures, were vandalised in Khulna, Jashore, Kushtia, Barishal, and Sylhet.
