Colombo: The Bangladesh interim government’s account of aspects of the meeting between chief adviser Muhammad Yunus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including attacks on minorities and the extradition request for former premier Sheikh Hasina, was “mischievous and politically motivated”, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
Responding to an official readout from the Bangladeshi side on the Modi-Yunus meeting in Bangkok and a Facebook post by Yunus’ spokesperson Shafiqul Alam, the people said on condition of anonymity that the characterisation of the Indian premier’s remarks regarding the relationship with Yunus and the previous Bangladesh government were “inaccurate”.
The people particularly took exception to remarks made by Yunus’ press secretary Alam in a Facebook post on Saturday, saying the account of the meeting in Bangkok was “mischievous and politically motivated”.
Alam said in the Facebook post that when Yunus raised Bangladesh’s request for the extradition of Hasina, the “response was not negative”. Alam also claimed Modi had said: “We saw her [Hasina’s] disrespectful behaviour towards you [Yunus].”
The people cited above said Modi had responded to various specific issues raised by Yunus by saying that these were best discussed by the foreign ministers of the two countries.
“There is no basis for the observation made by the press secretary on the extradition request,” one of the people said, emphasising that such attempts call into question the seriousness and the good faith of Bangladesh’s interim government.
India has no far not responded to the request made by Bangladesh’s interim government last year for the extradition of Hasina, who is living in New Delhi in self-exile since she fled Dhaka last August after the collapse of her government. Indian officials have said the Bangladesh side has not completed several legal formalities related to the extradition request.
The people further said that Modi had spoken during the meeting with Yunus about the progress in bilateral relations since 2014 and characterised the ties as a “deep friendship between our societies and peoples”. They pointed out that that Bangladeshi side’s characterisation of Modi’s remarks regarding the relationship with Yunus and the previous government of Sheikh Hasina were inaccurate.
Modi, the people said, had also mentioned the importance of elections as the basis of legitimacy in any democracy. They said “continued procrastination” in this regard would damage the reputation Yunus.
The people also said the Bangladeshi side’s contention that attacks on the country’s minorities were a “social media concoction” was a contradiction of the facts on the ground.
At their meeting in Bangkok on Friday, Modi directly conveyed India’s deep concerns about the safety of Bangladesh’s Hindus and other minorities to Yunus and said he expects Dhaka to ensure their security and thoroughly investigate instances of atrocities against them. This was the first face-to-face meeting between Modi and Yunus since the fall of Hasina’s government.
The security of Bangladesh’s minorities has emerged as the most contentious issue between the two sides since the interim government assumed office last August, and New Delhi has repeatedly urged Dhaka to ensure their security.