Delhi doesn't endorse deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina criticism of Bangladesh's interim government and it remains a "pinprick" in the India-Bangladesh relationship, said the Indian foreign secretary.
Indian media reports Thursday quoted Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri as saying this Wednesday while updating India's parliament on his eventful Bangladesh trip in the wake of tensions stemming from the toppling of Hasina government in an uprising and her exile in India.
He made the comment while briefing the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, headed by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.
Implicitly dispelling criticisms of Delhi's predilection towards Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party, Mr Misra made it clear that India's relations with Bangladesh are not limited to a "single political party" or a government and that India is focused on the "people of Bangladesh".
The foreign secretary said Ms. Hasina was using "private communication devices" to make her comments and that the Government of India was not involved in providing her with any platform or facility that enables her to carry out her political activity from Indian soil.
This, he said in his submissions, is part of India's traditional practice of avoiding "interference in third countries".
Mr. Misri's remarks acquire significance as Ms. Hasina has been making video messages criticising the interim government in Bangladesh led by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.
The top official informed the committee that during his visit to Dhaka on Monday, he informed the interim government that India's relations with Bangladesh went beyond "a particular political party" or a particular government and that India prioritised ties with the people of Bangladesh and would engage with the government of the day.
He briefed the committee a day after return from Dhaka, where he conveyed India's "concerns" about the "regrettable incidents" in Bangladesh.
He described Bangladesh as the largest partner in trade and connectivity in South Asia and said in recent years the two sides had built rail links, bus links, and inland waterways.
He, however, informed the committee that passenger rail services between the two countries remained "suspended".
He said India was concerned about the lack of acknowledgment of the alleged incidents of violence against minority communities, but welcomed the latest report that authorities in Bangladesh had arrested 88 persons related to the violence against minority communities after the fall of the Hasina government.
Mr. Misri, according to sources, also said that there had been tangible improvement in the relationship after his visit.
Both sides explained their concerns. For India, he said, the Bangladesh authorities' decision to release many of the convicted "terrorists" who are indulging in anti-India rhetoric remained an issue of deep concern.
The Bangladesh authorities, meanwhile, flagged the "disinformation" campaign in the Indian press about the events unfolding in that country.
Many committee members raised the arrest of ISKCON monks in Bangladesh, but no reply, as per the sources, was forthcoming from Mr. Misri on the issue.
He, however, told the parliamentarians that during his visit to Dhaka, he informed the authorities there that there had to be an "acknowledgment" of the incidents that involved "attacks" on temples and the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre.
The interim government of Bangladesh described the reports as exaggeration or media creation. But Mr Misri stated there were "credible" organisations that have documented some of the incidents that required to be addressed.
He then pointed out that soon after his conversation on these lines, the press secretary to the Chief Adviser, Shafiqul Alam, held a press conference informing the number of arrests that had been made to deal with the incidents.
He also informed that some of the justifications for the attacks in Bangladesh referred to the fact that the incidents involved attacks on the activists of the Awami League, the former ruling party. Mr. Misri explained that such arguments could not "justify" such attacks.
He informed the committee that during his Monday trip, he met Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossein, Foreign Secretary Mohammad Jashim Uddin, and Mr. Yunus and emphasised the need for a "democratic, peaceful, stable and inclusive" Bangladesh.
He mentioned that last year, 1.6 million visas were issued to visitors from Bangladesh, the largest number of visas that India has issued to any country during that time.
India did not view the relation with Bangladesh as one based on "reciprocity" but as one that is grounded on "good neighbourly relationship".
The Indian foreign secretary also informed the committee that the issue of review of bilateral treaties did not feature in his conversation with Mr. Yunus.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com