New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday cautioned Bangladesh over its inconsistent outlook towards India in recent times. It also asked leaders of the neighboring country to avoid making ‘ridiculous’ claims against India.
He also asked Dhaka to make up its mind on which direction Bangladesh wants its ties with India to move. The minister added that Bangladeshi leaders cannot say they want a good relationship with India and then blame New Delhi for everything that goes wrong in their country.
‘Bangladesh cannot blame India for everything that goes wrong’
“If someone in the interim government of Bangladesh stands up and blames India for everything – some of which are ridiculous…You cannot say that you want good ties with India and then blame New Delhi for everything that goes wrong. It is a decision that Bangladeshi leaders must make,” Jaishankar said at an event.
He added, “Bangladesh’s interim government must make up its minds on what kind of ties they want to with New Delhi. India has a very special history with Bangladesh, something that goes back to 1971”
Clear message sent to Bangladesh: S Jaishankar
The minister pointed out that India sent a clear message to Bangladesh that it wants situations to calm down in the neighbouring country. Even after this, there had been hostile messages from Dhaka towards India, he said further.
In his recent meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Touhid Hossain, Jaishankar conveyed that terrorism must not be normalised in Bangladesh. In recent times, there have been reports of Pakistan’s increasing influence in Bangladesh.
Both Jaishankar and Hossain had earlier met in New York last September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The meeting of leaders was the first high-level engagement between both sides after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power in August last year.
