Nava Thakuria

The  ministry of external affairs recently dismissed the allegation of the Bangladesh government, where Dhaka alleged that New Delhi was inherently supporting the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s political party. Terming it misplaced, the ministry clarified that India does not allow political activities against other countries from its soil. However, the central government admitted that New Delhi was not aware of any anti-Bangladesh activities by purported members of the Awami League  inside India. A ministry-spokesperson also added that New Delhi expected a free, fair and inclusive elections in Bangladesh as early as possible to ascertain the will and mandate of the citizens.

One can remember that a year’s back, when a mass uprising in Bangladesh ousted the sitting premier Hasina, she came to India for asylum with a short notice. Then nobody thought that the Bangabandhu’s daughter had to stay in the neighbouring  country for all these months. The centre has not yet announced that Hasina is given official shelter, but her passport was already  suspended by the interim government of Bangladesh. The Muhammad Yunus-led caretaker government also continues pursuing Hasina’s deportation to face trials in her home country following hundreds of police complaints against her.

The recent initiative by Dhaka also shocked the people of India, where the Yunus-led regime alleged that many Hasina supporters were also taking shelter in India and even running offices here. A statement issued by the Bangladesh ministry of foreign affairs on 20 August stated that their attention was drawn to media reports of ‘offices of the banned political party titled Bangladesh Awami League were established’ in Delhi and Kolkata. This development occurs against the backdrop of growing anti-Bangladesh activities by Awami League leaders from the Indian territory, added the statement. It also asserted that  any form of political activity and campaigning against the interest of Bangladesh by its nationals, staying on Indian soil, including the establishment of offices, constitutes an unambiguous  affront to the people and State of Bangladesh.

Moreover, Dhaka warned that these developments threaten the mutual trust and respect underpinning good neighbourly relations between the two countries and called on New Delhi to take immediate action to halt any anti-Bangladesh activities and close Awami League offices (functioning legally or illegally inside India). Lately, the caretaker government has also warned the media outlets of Bangladesh to avoid airing or broadcasting any message from Hasina. Accusing the dethroned premier of making false and inflammatory claims on many occasions, Dhaka asked all satellite news channels and digital platforms in the country to ignore those inputs, otherwise it would invite legal actions. Earlier, the International Crimes Tribunal also prevented Hasina from making  hate speeches.

The news relating to the temporary offices of Awami League  in Kolkata and Delhi were spread by a number of Bangladeshi media outlets which quoted a recent BBC Bangla report. Those outlets claimed that over 2000 Awami League ministers and leaders along with retired bureaucrats, army & police officers, law practitioners and others are taking shelter in India with extended medical and tourist visas. They have rented common accommodations to assemble regularly and discuss political issues where many personally attend and some connect digitally from various parts of the globe. On one occasion, Hasina had reportedly addressed the gathering, which was eventually made public by selected media outlets.

However, the practice of supporting anti-India elements from its territory used to be a familiar approach for Bangladesh as it supported a number of armed militant outfits from northeast India for decades. Several separatist outfits  from Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, etc ran training camps inside Bangladesh before their surrender. As a return gesture, the said militant outfits did not raise voices against the Bangladeshi Muslims taking shelter illegally in India, even though public resentments against those migrants continued. The issue of infiltration gained momentum as Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his concerns for infiltration and demographic changes in the bordering localities due to a growing Muslim population. Addressing the nation on 15 August, Modi also announced that a high-powered mission will be established to address these issues, amid estimates that no less than 20 million undocumented Bangladeshis are living in India.