Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned Acting High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India Md. Nural Islam at South Block today at 5:00 pm.
The summoning follows a series of statements from Bangladeshi authorities that allegedly portray India in a negative light, according to a statement issued by Shri Randhir Jaiswal, the Official Spokesperson of the MEA.
MEA statement said, “It was conveyed that India desires a positive, constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with Bangladesh, which has been reiterated several times in recent high-level meetings. It is, however, regrettable that regular statements made by Bangladesh authorities continue to portray India negatively, holding us responsible for internal governance issues. These statements by Bangladesh are in fact responsible for the persistent negativity.”
“Comments attributed to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have been made in her individual capacity in which India has no role to play. Conflating this with the Government of India’s position is not going to help add positivity to bilateral relations,” said Shri Jaiswal in his response to media queries.
“While the Government of India will make efforts for a mutually beneficial relationship we expect that Bangladesh will reciprocate similarly without vitiating the atmosphere,” the statement added.
