Jaishankar Asked Bangladesh What Kind Of Relation It Wants With India

Bangladesh is making ridiculous charges against India, said India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. He criticised leaders of Bangladesh’s interim government amid continuing tension between the two countries.

“If every day, someone in the interim government stands up and blames India for everything – some of those things, if you look at the reports, are ridiculous. You cannot, on the one hand, say ‘I would now like to have good relations with you, but I wake up every morning and blame you for everything that goes wrong’. It is a decision that they must make,” said Jaishankar at a public event in New Delhi.

Jaishankar’s statement came just days after he met his counterpart in Bangladesh’s interim government, Touhid Hassan, in Oman. Recalling the special relationship with Bangladesh of 1971, Jaishankar highlighted that the Indian Army helped liberate the country what was then known as East Pakistan from West Pakistan, which is present-day Pakistan. Jaishankar also asked Bangladesh what kind of relationship it wants with India.

Pointing out two aspects of the problem in the present India-Bangladesh ties, Jaishankar said that the first is the spate of communal attacks against minorities in Bangladesh, which is very concerning for India. 
The second aspect that Mr. Jaishankar highlighted is Bangladesh’s domestic politics, saying it is something one can agree or disagree with.

“New Delhi has sent a clear message that we want things to calm down. But we don’t appreciate their constant hostile messaging towards India,” said Jaishankar.