Shashi Tharoor said India acted in the ‘right humanitarian spirit’ by not forcing Sheikh Hasina’s return, calling her a friend who deserves safety. His remarks come amid strained Indo-Bangla ties and the return of Tarique Rahman to Dhaka.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said India had acted in the “right humanitarian spirit” by not forcing Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to return, stressing that she had been a long-standing friend of India and deserved safety while legal aspects were carefully examined.
“As far as Sheikh Hasina is concerned, India has acted in the right humanitarian spirit not to force somebody back who has been a good friend of India for many years,” Tharoor told ANI on Wednesday.
He noted that issues related to extradition involved complex legal provisions, treaties and exceptions, which only a limited number of people fully understood.
“I would leave it to the government to do the appropriate consideration. But in the meantime, when we are being hospitable to a good friend, I think we should just allow her to remain safely until and unless the government has studied all those things in much more detail,” he added.
Strained India-Bangladesh Relations Amid Unrest
The remarks come as relations between India and Bangladesh have encountered another strain following the killing of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi in Dhaka, which triggered a wave of anti-India protests amid heightened political tensions. Hadi, who was a prominent figure associated with last year’s July uprising in Bangladesh, was killed in the capital, an incident that sparked unrest and demonstrations against the backdrop of growing political instability.
In the aftermath of the protests, the Bangladesh government announced the suspension of visa services in India, following demonstrations held outside Bangladeshi diplomatic missions.
Separately, protests also erupted in Bangladesh after the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a young Hindu man who was lynched in Mymensingh, drawing strong reactions from minority groups and civil society organisations.
Political Landscape Shifts as Tarique Rahman Returns
Meanwhile, after spending 17 years in exile, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party Acting Chairman, Tarique Rahman, returns to Dhaka on Thursday, in what is expected to be a major political event in the country’s history after the ousting of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year during the July Uprising.
Rahman, accompanied by his wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter, Zaima Rahman, arrived from London on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, bdnews24 reported.
Bangladesh will hold a national parliamentary election in February next year.
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