The end of Sheikh Hasina‘s 15-year tenure followed weeks of violent unrest that resulted in nearly 300 deaths as the government attempted to suppress the demonstrations, which it attributed to sabotage and opposition parties, through measures such as gunfire, curfews, and internet outages, AFP reported.
However, these heavy-handed tactics only intensified public anger and led to even more widespread protests.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said that as far as India is concerned, “the first and most important signal we need to send to the people of Bangladesh is that we stand with them; there are no other vested interests that India has.”
Tharoor added that there are some disturbing reports coming of attacks on Hindu homes, temples and individuals. “We all saw the pictures of looting yesterday. It may calm down and stabilize in a couple of days, if it doesn’t, then there is a risk even of refugees fleeing to our country and that would be a matter of grave concern,” he noted.
#WATCH | Delhi: On the current situation in Bangladesh, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says “As far as India is concerned, the first and most important signal we need to send to the people of Bangladesh is that we stand with them, there are no other vested interests that India… pic.twitter.com/S4EYSuwdd6
— ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2024
Congress MP further said, “I hope that our High Commissioner and our staff there are safe and monitoring the situation closely. We still don’t know who is going to be in the interim government. There are some understandable concerns in India about the increasing influence of the Jamaat-e-Islami, which has taken a very hostile attitude to India in the past, and possible meddling by China and Pakistan…We don’t want an unstable or an unfriendly neighbour.”
Earlier in the day, Leaders of Opposition in both the Houses, Mallikarjun Kharge (Rajya Sabha) and Rahul Gandhi (Lok Sabha) attended the all-party meeting convened by the central government to discuss the ongoing situation in Bangladesh.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed the meeting regarding the situation.
The student-led protests in Bangladesh initially sought the abolition of a quota system for government jobs but evolved into a larger uprising against Prime Minister Hasina and her ruling Awami League party. According to local media outlet Prothom Alo, clashes in Dhaka on Sunday resulted in at least 95 deaths, including 14 police officers, and left hundreds more injured.
(With inputs from agencies)
