Jaishankar briefs all-party meeting on Bangladesh, assures border situation ‘not alarming’
Jaishankar spoke on all possible impacts that developments in Bangladesh could have on India, and about New Delhi’s strategy if there was any interference from outside.
India has offered help to former Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina, who fled to the country on Monday, and will take necessary steps if the situation in the neighbouring nation deteriorates, the government informed an all-party meeting on Tuesday.
Leaders of key political parties who attended the meeting held behind closed doors were told by a team of ministers that the army was put on high alert and security enhanced along the border with Bangladesh, people aware of the discussions said on condition of anonymity.
The meeting was convened to discuss developments in Bangladesh following the dramatic collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government. The opposition parties indicated they will stand by the government’s decision-making in confronting the crisis, the people said.
Home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, external affairs minister S Jaishankar, health minister JP Nadda and parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju were part of the government team that participated in the meeting, which was also attended by leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi.
Jaishankar spoke on all possible impacts on India of the developments in Bangladesh, and about New Delhi’s strategy for coping with any interference from outside, the people said. He described the current situation at the India-Bangladesh border as “not alarming”, they said.
The people said Gandhi asked whether the government has information on the future plans of Hasina, who arrived at Hindon airbase near Ghaziabad in a Bangladesh Air Force aircraft on Monday afternoon, hours after she resigned and fled Dhaka.
Gandhi also asked about the government’s short-term strategy and expressed concern about possible infiltration. He also asked if any “foreign forces”, particularly China, were linked to the disturbance in Bangladesh, they said.
Jaishankar said the Indian side has spoken to Hasina on her future course of action, but it couldn’t be disclosed at the moment, the people said.
The government side pointed out that Pakistani diplomats had changed their display pictures on social media to indicate their support to the uprising that ousted Hasina, the people said.
Jaishankar also told the meeting that there is the possibility of the formation of an interim government in Dhaka, the people said. New Delhi is in touch with the Bangladesh Army and the Indian Army has been alerted and steps have been taken to ensure the safety and security of the country, the meeting was told.
Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman and President Mohammed Shahabuddin both announced on Monday an interim government will be formed to run the country but there is still no clarity on when this set-up will be created or who will head it. Hasina’s Awami League party was not among the political parties consulted by Zaman regarding the formation of a caretaker administration.
Another area of focus for the Indian side is ensuring the safety of some 10,000 Indians who are in Bangladesh. There were about 19,000 Indians, including 8,000 students, in Bangladesh when the protests began. Most of the students have returned.
The people quoted Jaishankar as saying that there were reports of minority communities being attacked in Bangladesh and their properties and assets being destroyed. He said appropriate steps will be taken to ensure the safety of minorities, according to the people.
Among those who attended the all party meeting were Congress leader KC Venugopal, TR Baalu of the DMK, Lallan Singh of the JD-U, Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress, Misa Bharti of the RJD, Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena (UBT), Sasmit Patra of the Biju Janata Dal, Supriya Sule of the NCP-SP, and Ram Mohan Naidu of the TDP.
O’Brien said the TMC told the Union government to keep the state government in West Bengal, which shares a long border with Bangladesh, informed about developments. “We told them to keep us and the West Bengal chief minister in the loop since we have to absorb the pressure,” he said.
Though the opposition didn’t demand a statement from the PM, an opposition leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the PM should have been present at the meeting. “In 1971, when Bangladesh was liberated, Indira Gandhi, the then PM, addressed the all-party meeting and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had attended,” he said.
He questioned the government’s decision of not inviting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the meeting. AAP is the third largest party in the Rajya Sabha with 10 MPs and it has three lawmakers in the Lok Sabha. Sanjay Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP of AAP, told reporters the government shouldn’t have excluded them from the meeting.
Speaking outside Parliament, Singh said: “He (Jaishankar) explained the situation there and, because in such circumstances, we have to support the government and since it is a matter related to national security, we didn’t raise any queries. Whatever his statement was, the opposition listened to it carefully. But the biggest regret is, will politics prevail even on matters of national security?”
Singh said likes and dislikes can’t be the basis for inviting parties for such meetings. “When it is about national security, then it doesn’t matter which party the PM is happy with and which party PM is unhappy with...they have to take everybody along,” he said.
RJD’s Misa Bharti said the all-party meeting was a platform to convey concern about Indians in Bangladesh. “We are concerned about the safety of our people there and our party wants efforts to be made to secure the border,” she said.
A second person privy to the meeting said some opposition MPs conveyed their concerns about social media posts stoking unrest and violence and told Jaishankar that incendiary posts shouldn’t be allowed on such platforms. “He was told there is a need to stop hate on social media,” the person said.