Google Alert – বাংলাদেশ
Dhaka has urged New Delhi to immediately close any party office of the Awami League in India and ensure that no Bangladeshi engages in any anti-Bangladesh activity there.
It said any form of political activity or campaign by Bangladeshis against the interests of Bangladesh is a clear affront against the people of Bangladesh and the state.
This development also jeopardises the upholding of the good-neighbourly relations with India driven by mutual trust and mutual respect and carries serious implications for the political transformation underway in Bangladesh, said the foreign ministry in a statement yesterday.
“This may also trigger public sentiment in Bangladesh which may in turn impact the ongoing efforts of the two countries in further enhancing the relationship.”
The statement comes in the wake of recent media reports claiming that the Awami League has set up a party office in Kolkata and New Delhi.
The AL leaders began relocating to India after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India on August 5, 2024, in the face of a mass uprising.
Hasina is believed to be somewhere near Delhi, and many senior AL and its affiliated bodies’ leaders, including former ministers, have rented homes in and around Kolkata, reported BBC Bangla on August 8.
Indian newspaper The Print in an article on August 19 suggested that roughly 1,300 former ministers and leaders of AL and its affiliated bodies were in exile in India and other parts of the world.
Hasina and many of Awami League leaders face cases for mass killings during the July uprising.
Bangladesh, whose relations with India remained frosty since the fall of the Awami League, had written to India seeking extradition of Hasina, but has received no response yet.
The interim government has banned all activities of the AL under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
In response to media queries on yesterday’s foreign ministry statement, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government is not aware of any anti-Bangladesh activities purported by members of the AL in India or of any action that is contrary to Indian law.
“The government does not allow political activities against other countries to be carried out from Indian soil. The press statement by the interim government of Bangladesh is thus misplaced,” he said.