New Delhi, April 20 -- In a significant move, the NDA government has decided to send former Union minister and BJP leader Dinesh Trivedi as India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh. As the first political appointee in the neighbourhood after a long time, Trivedi will replace career diplomat PranayVerma, who moves to Brusselsas the Indian ambassador to the EU. While agreement will be sought from the Tarique Rahman government in Dhaka for Trivedi, the decision to send the 75-year-old veteran politician as India's envoy to Bangladesh also sends a message of accountability to the ministry of external affairs' diplomats. Trivedi was a Union minister for Railways and minister of state for Health and Family Welfare during the UPA regime, as a member of the Trinamool Congress. He resigned from the TMC on February 12, 2021 and joined the BJP on March 6, 2021. Trivedi's appointment comes at a time when India and Bangladesh are trying to repair their relationship after a major downturn in the ties during the caretaker government headed by Mohammed Yunus, following the removal of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a coup, with both military and police refusing to open fire on the agitators. During the tenure of US-backed Yunus, India-Bangladesh ties deteriorated and the chief advisor could notcontain sectarian violence against the minority community in Bangladesh. However, Trivedi's appointment clearly signals that the PM Narendra Modi-led government is not averse to sending political leaders as India's envoys to key countries, and these much sought-after postings are not merely a preserve of Indian Foreign Service officers. While former Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag served as Indian High Commissioner to Seychelles from 2019-2022, Trivedi's posting to Dhaka also indicates that India will be sending heavyweights to the neighbourhood as envoys, and the era of an ambassador for good times is over, at least in the Indian subcontinent....