The official said that Prime Minister Rahman might have skipped the multilateral BRICS summit for which he was invited by India, but that does not mean that he is trying to avoid an immediate and important neighbour like India which has contributed and sacrificed immensely during Bangladesh’s Liberation War of 1971. PM Rahman is aware that he may have to visit Delhi in a bilateral framework by November or early December, as the Ganga Water Treaty needs to be renewed at the earliest as it will otherwise lapse by the end of December, said the official.
The Hindu was told that Bangladesh expects India to be mindful of the fact that Sheikh Hasina’s accusations against Tarique Rahman are not rational as Mr. Rahman is an elected leader. “However, we are satisfied by the fact that a fresh press event featuring members of Sheikh Hasina’s party and her supporters was prevented by India. That is a constructive message from India and we have taken note of it,” said the official.
In this connection, he said that BNP leaders remember that in 2018, India denied entry to Lord Alexander Carlile, legal adviser to Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s then Chairperson Khaleda Zia. Lord Carlile was expected to address a press conference against Sheikh Hasina , who was Prime Minister of Bangladesh at that time.
Prime Minister Rahman was invited to attend the BRICS summit in Delhi as the head of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) between September 12-13 and bureaucrats-level consultation was ongoing between the two sides over the visit when deposed PM Sheikh Hasina addressed a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club here on August 5. Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response accused Hasina of committing violent crimes and expressed “outrage” over the event.