On Friday, the Indian government once more dissociated itself from former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s news conference in New Delhi, which drew a sharp reaction from Dhaka, stating that it had no involvement in the event and did not support any remarks made against the Bangladesh government.
Hasina, who has been residing in India since escaping Dhaka in August 2024 amid a student-driven uprising, used Wednesday’s virtual press conference to underscore her resolve to go back to Bangladesh by December, despite the possibility of arrest or even a death sentence. Bangladesh’s foreign ministry voiced anger that an “absconding convicted genocider” was permitted to stage such an event on Indian territory.
When foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was questioned at a routine press briefing about the Bangladesh government’s unusually forceful reaction, he restated India’s earlier stance before the news conference — that New Delhi had no involvement in organizing the event and did not support any of Hasina’s remarks.
He stated, "I have already presented the government’s stance on this matter prior to the press conference. I am restating it now."“
The government was not involved in the event, which was organized by a private media organization, and it does not support any statements made at the forum, particularly those concerning the legitimately established government of Bangladesh.
Responding to a separate question on remarks by Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed at the same event that Bangladesh is becoming “another Pakistan” as extremist forces and terror groups have purportedly been given a free hand by the current government, Jaiswal said India keeps a close eye on any developments that can impact the country’s security.
“We continue to closely follow developments that happen in our neighbourhood, keeping in mind our national security interests. And whatever measures have to be taken in that regard, we take those to secure our interests,” he said, without going into details.
Jaiswal, when asked again about the Bangladesh government’s request for fuel supplies from India to address its energy crisis, said he did not have any new information on the issue. “As you are aware, we have a continuing relationship with Bangladesh in the economic and energy sectors,” he stated.
Bangladesh’s power and energy minister, Iqbal Hassan Mahmood, requested extra diesel supplies during a meeting with Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi in Dhaka on Thursday. The Indian high commission stated on social media that both parties explored measures to enhance bilateral collaboration in the power and energy sectors.
Mahmood informed reporters following the meeting that a diesel shortage had affected power production and caused power cuts. "We have a pipeline with India that supplies diesel, and we have requested them to increase the supply," he said.