Bangladesh’s interim government has condemned India for allowing Sheikh Hasina to speak at a public event in New Delhi on January 23, alleging her remarks amounted to open incitement to violence aimed at toppling the government and disrupting the upcoming national election.
In a sharply worded statement on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Dhaka was “astonished and aggrieved” that a “convicted fugitive” was given a platform abroad to urge followers to undermine the electoral process. The ministry argued the episode “threatens Bangladesh’s democratic transition, peace and security,” and called it a clear affront to principles of sovereign respect, non-interference and good-neighborliness it expects in bilateral relations.
The statement also criticized India for “inaction” on Dhaka’s repeated requests to return Hasina under a bilateral extradition arrangement, asserting that instead she was enabled to deliver “inflammatory” remarks on Indian soil—something the ministry warned could set a dangerous precedent for the future of Bangladesh-India ties and complicate cooperation with the country’s next elected government.
Reiterating that the activities of the Awami League have been banned by the interim authorities, the foreign ministry said the party’s leadership has “once again shown” why the government moved to proscribe it, and declared the party would be held responsible for any election-period violence. Dhaka added it will take all necessary measures to prevent “any form of violence or conspiracy” around the polls.
The ministry’s protest follows weeks of fraught regional rhetoric and domestic political tension in the run-up to the vote, with Dhaka insisting that external platforms should not be used to influence Bangladesh’s internal political process.