Bangladesh crisis: ‘Watching closely’, says Centre on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘foreign hand’ query

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 6

India made its first formal remarks on the Bangladesh crisis today as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the situation in the neighbouring nation was still evolving and there was concern regarding the safety and security of minorities and their religious places.

The government also convened an all-party meeting and briefed political outfits about the evolving situation in Bangladesh. It said a close watch was being kept on the extremely fluid situation.

Jaishankar, in a suo motu statement in both houses of Parliament, said former PM Sheikh Hasina requested for approval at very short notice to come to India “for the moment”. “Our understanding is that after a meeting with leaders of the security establishment, PM Hasina apparently decided to resign. At very short notice, she requested approval to come, for the moment, to India,” he said.

Hasina had resigned yesterday and was evacuated on a military plane to India. She flew into the Hindon airbase near Delhi.

The minister said it was “particularly worrying that minorities, their businesses and temples had come under attack at multiple locations”. He said the Indian border-guarding forces had been instructed to be “exceptionally alert in view of the complex situation”. He said it was expected that the Indian High Commission at Dhaka and consulates at Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet were provided the required security protection.

At the all-party meeting, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi asked Jaishankar if there was a foreign hand, principally Pakistan, involved in Bangladesh. The government did not rule out a foreign hand, but sufficed to say that the situation was too fluid and the Indian Government had been keeping a very close watch. One opposition source said “there was a mention at the meeting of a Pakistan diplomat who constantly changed his social media display as the situation in Bangladesh altered, but nothing more was said”. This source did not disclose who spoke about this Pakistan diplomat. Opposition leaders said no one asked any questions about the whereabouts of former PM Hasina. “Everyone expressed full support for the government and its foreign policy as it tackled the situation,” the source said.

Rahul also asked about the government’s short and long-term strategies for the bordering country as also whether the Centre had anticipated the brewing crisis. To both queries, Jaishankar said the government was closely engaged with the Bangladeshi establishment.

Several opposition leaders spoke of the need to safeguard Indians and minorities, to which the government said it was engaged with the Bangladeshi establishment about the safety of 19,000 Indians there and also of the minorities.

At the meeting, the government was represented by Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister JP Nadda, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister and JD(U) leader Rajiv Lallan Singh and Union Minister and JD(S)’ HD Kumaraswamy. Opposition leaders who attended the meeting included Congress’ Rahul and KC Venugopal; TMC’s Sudip Bandopadhyay; SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav, RJD’s Misa Bharti, NCP (Sharadchandra)’s Supriya Sule; DMK’s TR Baalu and YSRCP’s Vijaysai Reddy.