BNP slams India for Hasina's speech, warns of harm to bilateral ties

BNP's Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal condemned India for allowing ousted PM Sheikh Hasina's virtual address, stating it's 'harmful' for bilateral ties. He demanded India hand over the convicted former PM and other Awami League leaders to Bangladesh.

BNP Condemns Hasina's Address from India

Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, adviser to Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman and Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, on Thursday condemned former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's virtual media address, for the first time since her ouster in 2024, from India, alleging that New Delhi's decision to allow the speech would adversely affect bilateral ties between the two countries.

Alal said the BNP strongly opposed the permission granted to Hasina to deliver her address from India and linked the issue to Bangladesh's political developments following August 5, 2024, the day she was ousted after a student-led uprising. "We condemned it seriously, and we condemned the permission which was given to Sheikh Hasina by the Indian government, and which is very harmful and very bad for Bangladesh-India relationships. 5th August is a great victory for Bangladeshi democracy, Bangladeshi people's participatory government, and Bangladesh people's freedom and free mass media rehabilitation day," he said.

India Clarifies No Government Involvement

This comes after Hasina made a virtual address to the media at a private event in New Delhi organised by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia on Wednesday. India had sidelined itself from Hasina's engagement, stating that the government has no involvement in the event related to Hasina in the national capital.

Addressing a media briefing on Tuesday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stressed that the event was being organised by a "private media entity" and that New Delhi does not endorse any views that may be expressed there. "The interaction you refer to is being organised by a private media entity. The government has no involvement whatsoever in it. Neither does it endorse any views that may be expressed at the forum," Jaiswal said.

BNP Demands Extradition of Hasina

Alal further called for legal action against Hasina and other Awami League leaders currently in India and urged New Delhi to return them to Bangladesh. "Convicted Sheikh Hasina and convicted others who are in India should also be returned to Bangladesh. They should be handed over to the Bangladesh government," he said.

Last year in December, Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) delivered its verdict, sentencing Hasina and the country's former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in a case related to crimes against humanity during 2024 July-August unrest, while former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, a state witness, received a five-year prison term. Following the ruling, Dhaka urged India to hand over both convicted individuals without delay.

Criticism Over 'Anti-State' Remarks

Alal also criticised remarks made by Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed, ahead of Hasina's address, who said that Bangladesh had become "another Pakistan" on India's eastern front, labelling them as "offensive and anti-state". "Even the son of Sheikh Hasina said that the Eastern wing of India has now become Pakistan--which he means Bangladesh. This is a very much offensive and anti-state activity," Alal added. (ANI)

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