Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri briefed the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs, led by Congress lawmaker Dr Shashi Tharoor, about the situation in Bangladesh yesterday.
The briefing comes after an Indian delegation led by Misri held a Foreign Office Consultations in Dhaka on December 9.
Several MPs questioned Misri about the ground situation in Bangladesh amid daily reports of violence against minorities appearing in the Indian media. The foreign secretary assured them that the Bangladesh government had promised action against the perpetrators.
Misri also clarified that, contrary to media reports, the Professor Muhammad Yunus-led interim government did not raise issues regarding reviewing any agreements with India.
Many MPs, cutting across party lines, expressed concerns about the violence and unrest in Bangladesh and the fate of an arrested Hindu monk, former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das. Misri assured the panel that the government has taken all necessary steps at various levels to address the issue, including through diplomatic channels.
Sources indicated that many MPs wanted to determine the status of deposed Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India after her ouster on August 5, and whether she was a refugee or had taken asylum. External affairs ministry officials did not comment on this, the sources added.
After the meeting, committee chairman Tharoor expressed satisfaction with the briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs official. “It was a very good meeting, and since we will be reporting to parliament about this issue, which is going to be sometime later next year, it can be termed as a very good beginning,” he said.
Tharoor also noted that Misri had given a comprehensive briefing and was pleased with the high turnout of committee members.
However, sources said a consultative committee meeting scheduled for December 14, in which Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was to apprise the panel about India’s neighbourhood policy in light of the Bangladesh situation, has been called off due to “unavoidable circumstances” and will be held at a later date.
Misri’s visit was the first top-level diplomatic contact between New Delhi and Dhaka since the regime change in Bangladesh.
Besides calling on Yunus, Misri also met Foreign Adviser Touhid Hussain and his Bangladeshi counterpart Jashim Uddin in Dhaka.
Daily Star
