New Delhi’s decision to allow deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to hold a press conference on August 5, coinciding with the second anniversary of the toppling of her government in a student uprising in 2024, has set back India’s ties with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government in Dhaka.
What is most intriguing is the timing. Ties with the Tarique Rahman-led government were on the mend as Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman visited New Delhi from April 7 to 9, marking the first high-level ministerial engagement. India too had sent an invitation to Prime Minister Rahman to attend the BRICS summit to be held in New Delhi in September. Bilateral trade and the issuing of visas to Bangladeshi citizens had resumed. The appointment of Dinesh Trivedi, a senior politician, as India’s new high commissioner was seen as a thawing of frozen ties.
All these measures took a hit when Sheikh Hasina was allowed to hold a press conference. India’s foreign ministry distanced itself from the event, with a ministry spokesman saying the government had no role to play in what was an event by a private media entity, and that the government does not endorse anything said at the forum. Even so, especially with regard to the duly constituted government of Bangladesh, the damage was done.
