India calls out Dhaka over Sheikh Hasina’s anti-Yunus comment
Bangladesh's foreign ministry handed over a protest note to India's acting high commissioner in Dhaka over Sheikh Hasina's remark
India on Friday summoned Bangladesh's acting high commissioner, day after Dhaka demanded that New Delhi “stop” deposed former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from making statements.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Bangladesh's acting high commissioner Md Nurul Islam was summoned at 5 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,” the MEA added.
“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,” the statement further read.
“While the Government of India will make efforts for a mutually beneficial relationship we expect that Bangladesh will reciprocate similarly without vitiating the atmosphere,” the government added.
According to a Reuters report, Bangladesh's foreign ministry handed over a protest note to India's acting high commissioner in Dhaka, conveying "deep concern, disappointment and serious reservation" over her comments, it said on its Facebook page.
"The ministry ... requested ... India to immediately take appropriate measures, in the spirit of mutual respect and understanding, to stop her from making such false, fabricated and incendiary statements," it said.
Sheikh Hasina urged supporters to stand against interim govt
In a televised address, Sheikh Hasina urged her supporters to stand against the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
She also called on the people of Bangladesh to resist the country's new leaders and alleged that they took power by “unconstitutional” means.
Thousands of protesters torched and demolished the residence belonging to her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The house in the capital, Dhaka, had been home to Hasina's late father and Bangladesh's independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who declared the country's formal break from Pakistan there in 1971. He was assassinated there in 1975. Hasina later turned the home into a museum.
(With Reuters inputs)
