New Delhi: The “freedom and independence” Bangladesh gained following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster as prime minister is “not sitting well with some people” who are trying to stall the country’s progress, interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus said in an apparent reference to India.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain while announcing that India and Bangladesh would hold foreign secretary-level talks later this week said that while Dhaka wanted a good relationship with India, “both sides need to want that and should work for it”.
There has been no confirmation regarding the talks by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The developments take place after a group of people in Agartala protesting the alleged mistreatment of minorities in Bangladesh broke into the Bangladeshi assistant high commission and vandalised it on Monday. They reportedly also removed a Bangladeshi flag from the premises.
Bangladesh, whose foreign ministry said it “deeply resent[ed]” what had happened, summoned the Indian high commissioner in response. The MEA said that the incident was “deeply regrettable”.
Addressing a group of delegations from various Bangladeshi political parties on Wednesday (December 4), Yunus alleged that ‘some people’ were “relentlessly outlining a different version of our country” and that the “Bangladesh we are aiming to build is being overshadowed by a fabricated narrative”, the Daily Star reported.
He also said that while it was anticipated that there “might be trouble surrounding Durga Puja”, his administration had called for “unity” and that “Puja was celebrated peacefully across the country”.
“But even that did not please certain quarters,” Yunus added according to the Daily Star.
The meeting at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, among whose attendees were delegates from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
The chief adviser and Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s remarks come amid a time of heightened tensions between India and Bangladesh and after New Delhi said it raised “serious concerns” with Dhaka over reported attacks on Hindu processions and temples during Durga Puja in Bangladesh.
Interim government officials in Bangladesh, including Yunus, have said that reports of attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh after Hasina’s ouster were being “exaggerated” in Indian circles.
“We must unite to prove their falsehoods wrong and establish the truth,” Yunus was quoted as also saying on Wednesday after alleging that misinformation against Bangladesh was no longer limited to “one country” and had “spread to certain major global powers”.
According to the Dhaka Tribune, Amar Bangladesh Party politician Asaduzzaman Fuaad said Yunus was discussing three issues during the meeting: the action needed against ‘propaganda’ spread in the world, including in India; the alleged disrespect of Bangladesh’s flag in the country’s diplomatic mission in Agartala; and the ‘narratives’ about the persecution of minorities in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s legal adviser Asif Nazrul also condemned the incident in Agartala as well as the ‘propaganda against’ and ‘interference in’ his country during the meeting, Prothom Alo reported.
Nazrul was cited as saying on Wednesday that the political parties present at the meeting with Yunus demanded that agreements signed with India during Hasina’s term as premier be reviewed and that those deemed harmful to Bangladesh’s interests be cancelled.
He also appreciated the role of those who helped Bangladesh deal with India’s actions against it, reported Prothom Alo, which also quoted him as saying that “we will remain united and brave against any kind of propaganda and provocation”.
Other parties present at the meeting accused India of trying to create communal discord between Hindus and Muslims and said that Bangladesh’s political parties were “united on the question of national independence and sovereignty”, as per United News of Bangladesh.
Reports did not mention Hasina’s Awami League party as participating in the meeting.
The fact that Hasina – who was forced out of power by a popular movement and following scores of deaths in clashes between protestors and the police – has been provided refuge in India and continues to make statements from here has not helped ease tensions.
As per the BSS news agency, the talks between India and Bangladesh – which according to foreign adviser Hossain will be held in Dhaka and led by the respective foreign secretaries – are expected to involve discussions on Hasina’s potential extradition to Bangladesh.
Yunus has communicated his government’s intention of pursuing charges of crimes against humanity against Hasina at the International Criminal Court, while a Bangladeshi court is already probing allegations of crimes against humanity against Hasina and her associates.
Another sticking point in bilateral ties has been the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna on sedition charges last month.
The MEA expressed “deep concern” over his arrest, following which Dhaka accused the Indian government of making “unfounded” statements and “misconstru[ing]” the case against him.