Bangladesh asks India to stop Hasina making ‘false statements’

DHAKA: Bangladesh has objected to a speech that its ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina made from India and asked New Delhi to stop her making “fabricated” comments, its foreign ministry said on Friday.

In response, India summoned Bangladesh’s envoy and said Hasina had made her comments as an individual. It said conflating her speech with India’s position would not help relations.

The neighbours have been sparring ever since Hasina fled to India in August after violent protests that killed more than 1,000 people.

In an online address on Wednesday, she urged her supporters to resist Bangladesh’s interim government, accusing it of seizing power unconstitutionally.

Thousands of protesters trying to disrupt Hasina’s address had tried to set fire to the home of Mujibur Rahman, her father and Bangladesh’s founding leader.

Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said it had protested to India’s acting high commissioner.

“The ministry ... requested ... 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,” it said.

Hasina could not be contacted for comment.

In return, India summoned Bangladesh’s acting high commissioner to accuse the authorities there of being responsible for “persistent negativity” with their statements.

Its foreign ministry said India would try to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship while expecting Bangladesh to “reciprocate similarly without vitiating the atmosphere”.

Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal condemned the destruction of Rahman’s home as vandalism.

Rahman declared Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan from the house in 1971, and he and most of his family were assassinated there in 1975.

Hasina transformed the building into a museum dedicated to her father’s legacy.

The interim government’s chief adviser, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, appealed for law and order and an end to attacks on properties linked to Hasina’s family or politicians from her Awami League.“Any deterioration of law and order will give a wrong message to the world,” he said. Bangladesh has been grappling with political strife since Hasina was ousted, with the interim government struggling to maintain law and order.

India and Bangladesh share a 4,000 km (2,500 mile) border and have longstanding cultural and business ties. India also played a key role in the 1971 war with Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.