NEW DELHI, Aug. 4 -- India on Tuesday formally distanced itself from former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina's planned virtual media interaction in the Capital, emphasising that it does not endorse any views that may be expressed during the event.
Hasina is scheduled to hold her first interaction with the media on Wednesday evening, two years after she fled Dhaka after the collapse of her government following a massive anti-government protest. Dhaka on Monday sought a clarification from the Indian side on Hasina's plan, with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's foreign affairs adviser Humaiun Kobir saying the public interaction from Indian soil could undermine the positive momentum witnessed in the bilateral ties in the recent months.
When asked during the weekly media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal stated that there was absolutely no link between the Indian government and the programme. "The dialogue you are talking about is being organised by a private media organisation. The government has absolutely no role to play in it, nor does it have any opinion regarding what opinions may be expressed at the forum.''
The issue was raised in a meeting between Bangladesh's Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Humayun Kabir, and India's newly appointed High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, at the prime minister's office in Tejgaon.
Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said on Monday that Hasina's public political activities from Indian territory could have a negative impact on relations between the two countries.
The former prime minister is set to address the virtual press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club. Though Hasina had given a series of e-mail interviews over the past few months, it will be her first media interaction.
The Awami League leader has already announced her plan to return to Dhaka by the end of this year, and she is likely to elaborate on that during the media interaction.
Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and a number of other Awami League leaders, including Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel and Shakib Al Hasan, are likely to speak at the conference. Hasina, 78, has been living in India since fleeing Dhaka on August 5, 2024.
Last November, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal in Dhaka for alleged "crimes against humanity" over her government's brutal crackdown on student-led protests in 2024. Since the verdict, Dhaka has been urging New Delhi to extradite her to face the law.
The relations between India and Bangladesh witnessed a major downturn after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power following the collapse of the Hasina government.
The two sides initiated efforts to stabilise the relations after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, represented India at the inauguration of Rahman as the prime minister in Dhaka on February 17.
In April, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman visited India as part of efforts to repair the strained bilateral ties following more than 18 months of heightened diplomatic tension.
It was the first high-level visit to India by a senior member of the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party government.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.