Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year tenure has come to an end following weeks of violent unrest that claimed nearly 300 lives. The government’s efforts to quell the demonstrations, which it attributed to sabotage and opposition parties, included the use of gunfire, imposition of curfews, and widespread internet outages.
However, these heavy-handed tactics only intensified public anger and led to even more widespread protests, newswire AFP reported.
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.”
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Tharoor added that some disturbing reports are 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
The 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, Mallikarjun Kharge (Rajya Sabha) and Rahul Gandhi (Lok Sabha), the leaders of the opposition in both houses, 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 to abolish a quota system for government jobs. Still, they became 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)