New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that India has always batted strongly to maintain a healthy relationship with its neighbours and Bangladesh remains no exception.
“India always wants to maintain good relations with its neighbours and Bangladesh is also our neighbouring country. We always try to maintain good relations with our neighbours because (former Prime Minister) Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to say that we can change friends but not our neighbours. So, we would like to maintain good relations with Bangladesh,” Singh told IANS in an exclusive interview.
New Delhi has been worried about the deteriorating law and order situation in Bangladesh under the current Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in the country which has been criticised severely for acquitting extremist elements and exonerating many Islamists since the fall of the Awami League government led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.
“We support a stable, peaceful, inclusive and progressive Bangladesh in which all issues are resolved through democratic means and by holding inclusive and participatory elections. We remain concerned about the deteriorating law and order situation, which has further been exacerbated by the release of violent extremists who were sentenced for serious crimes,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Friday.
As Bangladesh slid into abyss following the fall of Awami League government, the Yunus-led regime has been accused of giving a free hand to the Islamist forces in the country and also relaxing comprehensively the policy of mandatory security clearance required for Pakistani citizens seeking visas, thus facilitating easy return of many notorious terror suspects who had earlier fled to the safe havens in Pakistan.
With no end still in sight to attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, particularly on members belonging to the Hindu and Ahmadiyya communities, the MEA on Friday once again highlighted the serious issue and the interim government’s botched up investigations that have so far been just an eyewash.
“We have repeatedly underlined that it is the responsibility of the interim government of Bangladesh to protect Hindus and other minorities, as well as their properties and religious institutions. As seen so far, only 1254 out of 2374 reported incidents between August 5, 2024, and February 16, 2025, have been verified by the police. Further, 98 per cent of these 1254 incidents were deemed political in nature. We expect Bangladesh to thoroughly investigate and bring all perpetrators of killings, arson, and violence to justice without making such distinctions,” the MEA spokesperson mentioned on Friday.
Last month, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, during his meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Advisor Touhid Hossain in Muscat, conveyed that it is important that Bangladesh should not normalise terrorism.
Even though India continues to work towards the normalisation of ties between the two neighbouring countries, the interim government in Dhaka continues to make “groundless accusations” and also target minorities, especially the Hindu community in Bangladesh.
In December, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Dhaka, conveying New Delhi’s concerns, especially those related to the safety and welfare of minorities in Bangladesh, to the top leadership of the interim government.
(IANS)
