Jaishankar criticises Bangladesh’s ‘absolutely ridiculous’ charges against India
EAM asks Bangladesh to make up its mind on the kind of relationship it wants with India; points out two aspects of the problem in present India-Bangladesh ties
India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has criticised leaders of Bangladesh’s interim government for making “absolutely ridiculous charges” against India amid continuing tension between the two countries.
“If every day, someone in the interim government stands up and blames India for everything – some of those things, if you look at the reports, are absolutely ridiculous. You cannot, on the one hand, say that ‘I would now like to have good relations with you, but I wake up every morning and blame you for everything that goes wrong’. It is a decision that they must make,” said Jaishankar at a public event in New Delhi.
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Jaishankar has made this statement just days after meeting his counterpart in Bangladesh’s interim government, Touhid Hassan, in Oman.
India’s foreign minister asked Bangladesh to make up their minds on the kind of relationship it wants with India, as he highlighted India’s special relationship with the neighbouring country, going back to 1971 when the Indian Army helped liberate what was then known as East Pakistan from West Pakistan (Pakistan).
'Two aspects of the problem'
Jaishankar also pointed out two aspects of the problem in the present India-Bangladesh ties.
He said the first issue is the spate of communal attacks against minorities in Bangladesh, and said it was very concerning for India. He said it is something that impacts our thinking, and that had to be spoken about, which India had done.
The attacks began after the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power in August last year, and she fled to India. Bangladesh has tried to downplay the attacks on the Hindu community and other minorities in the country, while asking India to extradite Sheikh Hasina to face trial for what it calls the “mass genocide” of protesters.
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The second aspect is Bangladesh’s domestic politics, saying it is something one can agree or disagree with.
“New Delhi has sent a clear message that we want things to calm down. But we don’t appreciate their constant hostile messaging towards India,” said Jaishankar.