India’s foreign minister said the government knew of rising opposition to the neighboring country’s ousted PM Sheikh Hasina but couldn’t interfere
The Indian government had prior knowledge of growing opposition to Sheikh Hasina’s leadership in Bangladesh but was not in a position to “interfere,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday, according to a report by The Hindu. He briefed members of a Foreign Ministry parliamentary panel behind closed doors and reportedly said that India was not in a position to do much as it lacked the “necessary leverage” over the ousted Bangladeshi prime minister, who could only be “advised.”
This statement was in reference to the violent removal in August 2024 of Hasina, who took refuge in India. Relations between Dhaka and New Delhi have become strained since the collapse of Hasina’s government and since Muhammad Yunus, her vocal critic, was appointed as the chief adviser to the caretaker government.
Bangladesh, however, has recently reached out to India for a rapprochement. Yunus recently told the news outlet BBC Bangla that his country had no choice but to maintain good relations with India. He acknowledged that the two countries are “historically, politically and economically” inseparable. “There is no alternative to maintain good relations between the two countries,” he said, adding that “we cannot deviate from this.”
Ties between India and Bangladesh were further strained in February when the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) released a list of programs being cut as part of a cost-cutting initiative, thereby exacerbating the already tense relationship, as reported by the newspaper Indian Express. The list consisted of funding allocated to the US-based Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening and included a $29 million program designed to enhance the political environment in Bangladesh, among others.
However, the names of the recipients and the total expenditure on these initiatives were not made public. According to The Hindu report, Jaishankar highlighted the role of “external actors” in Bangladesh while speaking to MPs.
The development comes ahead of summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) in Thailand next month, where Yunus is reportedly likely to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, in the briefing with members of parliament, Jaishankar remained non-committal about the meeting. Bimstec is a summit that brings together seven South and Southeast Asian countries.
During Saturday’s discussion, Jaishankar was questioned about the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, where armed ethnic organizations have intensified their fight against the military junta since the February 2021 coup. Members of parliament also raised concerns about the conflict’s spillover effects on India’s northeastern states, according to media reports. “A useful discussion on India’s relationship with Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar and Sri Lanka,” Jaishankar posted on his X handle following the meeting with lawmakers.
