India on Wednesday summoned Bangladesh High Commissioner M Riaz Hamidullah to express concerns about the activities of “extremist elements” ahead of a protest march to the Indian mission in Dhaka.
The march was called by a group named the July Oikyo Mancho to demand that deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina be extradited to the country from India, The Hindu reported.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said on Wednesday that it “completely rejects the false narrative sought to be created by extremist elements regarding certain recent events in Bangladesh'“.
It added: “It is unfortunate that the interim government has neither conducted a thorough investigation nor shared meaningful evidence with India regarding the incidents.”
The foreign ministry said that India has friendly relations with the people of the Bangladesh that are rooted in the country’s liberation struggle. “We are in favour of peace and stability in Bangladesh and have consistently called for free, fair, inclusive and credible elections, conducted in a peaceful atmosphere,” it said.
India urged the interim government in Dhaka headed by Muhammad Yunus to ensure the safety of foreign missions and posts in Bangladesh.
The July Oikyo Mancho called for the march to the Indian mission in Dhaka at 3 pm on Wednesday to seek the “return of Fascist Hasina, and other murderers”, The Hindu reported.
The developments also came in the backdrop of a speech by Hasnat Abdullah, the leader of the National Citizen Party in Bangladesh, in which he warned of isolating India’s northeastern states and sheltering separatist groups if Bangladesh were to be destabilised, The Indian Express reported.
The Bangladeshi high commissioner was summoned a day after both countries marked Vijay Diwas to commemorate India’s victory in the 1971 war and Bangladesh’s liberation.
On Sunday, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma to express its “serious concern” about alleged statements made by Hasina.
It also reiterated its demand for her “expeditious extradition”.
Dhaka alleged that Hasina, who fled to India in August 2024 after protests in her country, had made “incendiary” remarks that were inciting her supporters to carry out “terrorist” attacks to “thwart” the parliamentary elections scheduled for February in Bangladesh.
Later in the day, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that New Delhi “categorically rejects” the assertions made by Bangladesh’s interim government led by Yunus.
Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled to India on August 5, 2024, after weeks of widespread student-led protests against her Awami League government. She had been in power for 16 years.
Yunus, a Nobel laureate economist, took over as chief adviser of the interim government three days after Hasina resigned.
Bangladesh has been seeking her repatriation since the fall of her government. The demand became a formal request after Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal were sentenced to death by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal on November 17.
The tribunal found Hasina guilty of crimes against humanity for the deadly crackdown on the protests.
Hasina had described the tribunal as biased and politically motivated, and denied ordering security forces to fire on protesters.
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