New Delhi: Tuesday’s all-party meeting on the situation in Bangladesh, which is rife with violence, was presided over by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who stated that India is closely monitoring events in the neighbouring country.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) Jaishankar notified all political parties about the safety of Indian nationals living there and the actions taken by the Union government.
“Briefed an All-Party meeting in Parliament today about the ongoing developments in Bangladesh. Appreciate the unanimous support and understanding that was extended,” the EAM said in a post on social media platform X.
According to sources quoting EAM Jaishankar, the government was notified that over 20,000 Indians, the majority of whom were students, were in Bangladesh. Some 8,000 of them had returned home as a result of an advisory issued by India.
The EAM added that the government maintains communication with the Bangladesh Army, that the situation is constantly changing, and that the government will provide updates on developments as they occur.
Furthermore, reports claim that Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, has not made any decisions regarding her plans and should be given time to choose her next course of action.
In addition to EAM Jaishankar, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah attended the meeting.
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, T. R. Balu from the DMK, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav, TMC leader Sudip Bandopadhyay, BJD leader Sasmit Patra, and other floor leaders from the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha attended the meeting.
At a meeting at his official residence on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India received a comprehensive briefing on the situation in the neighbouring country.
On Monday, Hasina landed at the Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad hours after resigning as the country’s Prime Minister and leaving Dhaka en route to Delhi.
Just as hundreds of demonstrators overran and damaged Dhaka’s official Prime Minister’s mansion, “Ganabhaban,” Hasina touched down in India aboard a military transport aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force.
Reportedly, more than 1,000 people were injured, and over 100 people were confirmed dead in Sunday’s skirmishes between police and demonstrators.
Over the past two weeks, Hasina’s government has come under intense pressure from the student-led non-cooperation movement.
The students were demonstrating against a thirty percent reservation in government jobs for the kin of freedom fighters who forced Bangladesh to gain its independence from Pakistan in a brutal civil war in 1971. Three million people were allegedly killed in this genocide, which was carried out by Pakistani troops and their allies, according to officials in Dhaka.
–IANS
