Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh interim government.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Interim government’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Sunday (September 8, 2024) said that Bangladesh wants to maintain good relations with India while asserting that it should be based on equity and fairness.

Mr. Yunus, 84, made the remarks while responding to a question at a meeting with students who had participated in the student-people revolution that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last month, state-run BSS news agency reported.

“We need to maintain good relations with India. But it should be based on equity and fairness,” the chief adviser’s special assistant Mahfuj Alam quoted him as saying.

Mr. Mahfuj, who briefed the media after the meeting, added that the chief adviser said Bangladesh always gives importance to mutual respect and equity in maintaining relations with neighbours.

He stressed reviving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to enhance regional cooperation.

The interim government headed by Mr. Yunus was appointed days after Ms. Hasina resigned and fled to India on August 5 following unprecedented anti-government student-led protests over a controversial quota system in government jobs.

Last week, Mr. Yunus expressed a desire for good ties with India but insisted that New Delhi must abandon the narrative that only Hasina’s leadership ensures the country’s stability.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Sunday (September 8, 2024) expressed surprise over Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s remarks, emphasising that he does not foresee any immediate threat of conflict between the two neighbours.

“I am more surprised than concerned. I don’t understand why he (Singh) made such remarks… I don’t find any reason behind that,” he told reporters at the foreign ministry here when asked for his comments on Mr. Singh’s remarks.

Addressing a joint commanders conference in Lucknow on Thursday (September 5, 2024), Mr. Singh called upon the top military brass to analyse the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza as well as the current situation in Bangladesh to “predict” any future problems and stay prepared to deal with the “unexpected.”

Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, has said that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina making political remarks from India is an “unfriendly gesture”, asserting that she must remain silent to prevent the discomfort to both countries until Dhaka requests her extradition.

“If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet,” he said.

In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Mr. Yunus, who was appointed the country’s Chief Advisor after Hasina’s ouster, stressed that while Bangladesh values strong ties with India, New Delhi must move “beyond the narrative that portrays every other political party except Awami League as Islamist and that the country will turn into Afghanistan without Sheikh Hasina.”

“No one is comfortable with her stance there in India because we want her back to try her. She is there in India and at times she is talking, which is problematic. Had she been quiet, we would have forgotten it; people would have also forgotten it as she would have been in her own world. But sitting in India, she is speaking and giving instructions. No one likes it,” he said.

Mr. Yunus was referring to Hasina’s statement on August 13 in which she demanded “justice”, saying those involved in recent “terror acts”, killings and vandalism must be investigated, identified, and punished.

“It is not good for us or for India. There is discomfort regarding it,” he said.

Following unprecedented anti-government protests that peaked on August 5, Hasina resigned as Prime Minister and fled to India. Her presence in India for nearly four weeks has fuelled speculation in Bangladesh.

When asked whether Bangladesh has communicated its stance to India, Mr. Yunus said it has been conveyed verbally and quite firmly that she should keep quiet.

“Everyone understands it. We have said quite firmly that she should keep quiet. This is an unfriendly gesture towards us; she has been given shelter there and she is campaigning from there. It is not that she has gone there on a normal course. She has fled following a people’s uprising and public anger,” he said.

Mr. Yunus stated that the interim government is committed to ensuring justice for the people of Bangladesh against the atrocities, and justice requires that she be brought back to the country.

“Yes, she has to be brought back or else the people of Bangladesh won’t be at peace. The kind of atrocities she has committed, she has to be tried in front of everyone here,” he emphasised.

Discussing the future of the India-Bangladesh relationship, Mr. Yunus expressed a desire for good ties with India but insisted that New Delhi must abandon the narrative that only Ms. Hasina’s leadership ensures the country’s stability.

“The way forward is for India to come out of the narrative. The narrative is that everybody is Islamist, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is Islamist, and everyone else is Islamist and will make this country into Afghanistan. And Bangladesh is in safe hands with Sheikh Hasina at the helm only. India is captivated by this narrative. India has to come out of this narrative. Bangladesh, like any other nation, is another neighbour,” he said.

Referring to the recent incidents of alleged attacks on Hindu minorities in the country and India raising concerns about it, Mr. Yunus said this is just an excuse.

“The issue of trying to portray the conditions of minorities in such a big way is just an excuse,” he said.

The minority Hindu population has faced vandalism of their businesses and properties, as well as the destruction of Hindu temples, during the student-led violence that erupted following the ouster of Ms. Hasina.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, expressed hope that the situation in violence-hit Bangladesh would return to normal soon and stated that 1.4 billion Indians are concerned about the safety of Hindus and minorities in the neighbouring country.

The 84-year-old Nobel laureate emphasised the need for India and Bangladesh to work together to improve their currently strained relationship.

When asked about ways to improve the Indo-Bangla relations, Yunus said both the countries need to work together and it is on a downhill presently.

“We need to work together to improve this relationship, which is now at a low,” he said.

Speaking about the future of bilateral treaties with India, Mr. Yunus said there are demands for a relook at certain treaties such as transit and the Adani electricity deal.

“Everybody is saying that it is needed. We will see what is on paper and, second, what is actually happening on the ground. I can’t answer it specifically. If there is any need to review, we will then raise questions about it,” he said.

The BNP has said if voted to power, it will review and re-evaluate the “questionable” Adani electricity deal signed during the Awami League regime, as it is putting “tremendous pressure” on the people of Bangladesh.