India won’t comment on Bangladesh’s internal politics: Trivedi

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi has said India does not want to comment on Bangladesh’s internal politics amid speculation over Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s possible visit to India.

“We do not want to say anything about internal politics,” Trivedi told reporters on Tuesday (1 September) after meeting Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan and LGRD State Minister Mir Shahe Alam at the Secretariat.

Asked whether Tarique Rahman would visit India amid tensions between the two countries over the presence of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in India following her death sentence for crimes against humanity, Trivedi said India should not comment on Bangladesh’s internal political affairs.

“What the people of the country understand to be best and what the elected government of the country understands to be best—that is what matters,” he said.

Trivedi said India wants to strengthen people-to-people ties with Bangladesh and has a responsibility to do whatever is beneficial for ordinary people.

“We talk about a dream, and when we talk about making that dream a reality, our responsibility increases. We are neighbouring countries, so our responsibility is greater,” he said.

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“We always say that we are equals. Nobody is big, nobody is small.”

The Indian envoy also stressed the need for both countries to understand each other’s challenges.

“We have to think about what Bangladesh’s democratic challenges are, and similarly, Bangladesh has to think about what India’s challenges are. We have to move forward keeping that in mind,” he said.

He added that while the past could not be forgotten, the two countries should not remain stuck in it.

“We cannot forget the past, but there is no point in remaining stuck in the past,” Trivedi said.