Last Updated:
The interim government failed to contain the damage caused by irate mobs to Bangladesh founding father’s memorial in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi.
Bangladesh foreign ministry summoned the Indian envoy to Dhaka to the ministry over remarks made by Sheikh Hasina. (IMAGE: DALL-E)
Dhaka called in India’s top diplomat on Thursday following Sheikh Hasina’s claim that Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, had orchestrated a scheme to assassinate her.
The protest came after Sheikh Hasina made the claims in a speech intended for her supporters and members of the party she led, the Awami League, which was broadcast via Facebook Live. Hasina, the Bangladesh Prime Minister, fled to India after Islamists and mobs stormed her residence after hijacking a popular student protest.
The Bangladeshi foreign ministry on social media said that it lodged a strong protest against the “false and fabricated statements” made by Hasina. The nation’s foreign advisor told Bangladeshi media outlets that his ministry opposed the statements being made by Hasina on different platforms, including social media.
The interim-government led by Muhammad Yunus has sued Hasina and her kin in court for alleged enforced disappearances, graft and crimes against humanity during the June-August protests that led to the deaths of over 800 people.
Yunus has demanded that India extradite Hasina and his spokespersons to maintain that the prime minister-in-exile’s speeches and comments have led to instability in Bangladesh.
India’s Acting High Commissioner in Dhaka, Pawan Badhe, was given the protest note where it expressed strong discontent and concern over remarks deemed offensive to the Bangladeshi public.
“Through the protest note, handed over to the Acting High Commissioner of India in Dhaka, the Ministry conveyed the deep concern, disappointment and serious reservation of the Government of Bangladesh, as such statements are hurting the sentiments of the people in Bangladesh. The Ministry also emphasized that such activities by her, are considered as a hostile act towards Bangladesh and are not conducive to the efforts at establishing a healthy relationship between the two countries,” the foreign ministry said in its Facebook page.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested the Government of India to immediately take appropriate measures, in the spirit of mutual respect and understanding, to stop her from making such false, fabricated and incendiary statements using social media and other communications while she is in India,” it further added.
The interim government has struggled to contain mob justice, vandalism and lynching of Hasina supporters and attacks on religious minorities following its takeover of Bangladesh.
During her Wednesday speech, mobs stormed the residence of Bangladesh founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rehman in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi. The residence of Rehman, Hasina’s father, is a national memorial but mobs stormed and vandalised the location.
Bangladesh’s interim government accused Hasina of stoking hatred with her speech and said she was responsible for the attack on Dhanmondi.
- Location :
Dhaka, Bangladesh
