New Delhi [India], December 22 : Former Indian diplomat Veena Sikri on Monday said that former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is absolutely correct in her assertion that the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus is fostering anti-India sentiment.
Sikri, who earlier served as Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, responded to remarks by Hasina in a recentinterview about the recent developments in Bangladesh. She highlighted how Hasina's replies showed how concerned she was about Bangladesh.
"The kind of speech he (Muhammad Yunus) gave and naming a hall after him (Osman Hadi), he was just an election candidate... This shows Dr Muhammad Yunus's own political pre-elections. Osman Hadi was known for his anti-Indianism and making claims on Northeast India. This means that Muhammad Yunus shares his views. Sheikh Hasina is fully right in saying that it is Muhammad Yunus who is perpetrating this anti-Indianism," Sikri told ANI.
Sikri continued, "People have realised that the Yunus interim regime, which has no legitimacy at all, is trying to install itself by undemocratic means."
Former diplomat further said that the interim regime of Muhammad Yunus owes an apology to the Indian government made following the killing of Osman Hadi. "You can't just make accusations like that."
"She (Hasina) spoke about the lawlessness and the killing of Osman Hadi. It is being shown how foolishly the interim regime of Muhammad Yunus tried to blame India for it, and then they called our High Commissioner, they arranged demonstrations against the High Commission in Dhaka and the assistant high commissions. Now they themselves have made a statement that the person who has come under suspicion as being the killer had been seen in the last few days in the same political rally as Osman Hadi. So he was sharing a political platform with him," she said.
"Obviously, it is an internal issue, and the police have said we have no evidence he has gone to India. So everything they said to the Indian High Commission is wrong. I think the interim regime of Muhammad Yunus owes an apology to the Indian government because you can't just make accusations like that," Sikri added.
With Bangladesh grappling with unrest after a fresh spell of violence last week, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mounted a strong critique of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, accusing it of empowering extremist elements, stoking anti-India sentiment and weakening democratic structures, developments she said endanger both domestic stability and regional security.
In an email interview with ANI, addressing concerns over growing hostility towards India and the safety of Indian diplomats, Hasina alleged that recent tensions were deliberately engineered. "This hostility is being manufactured by extremists who have been emboldened by the Yunus regime," she said.
Referring to incidents targeting Indian and domestic institutions, she added, "These are the same actors who marched on the Indian embassy and attacked our media offices, who attack minorities with impunity, and who forced my family and me to flee for our lives."
She further alleged that Yunus had "placed such figures in positions of power and released convicted terrorists from prison."Hasina said New Delhi's worries about the security of its diplomatic staff were well-founded. "A responsible government would protect diplomatic missions and prosecute those who threaten them. Instead, Yunus grants immunity to hooligans and calls them warriors," she said.
In response to the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) verdict against her, Hasina dismissed the ruling as politically motivated. "This verdict has nothing to do with justice and everything to do with political elimination," she said.
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