Bangladesh cancels a big-ticket defence contract worth Rs 180.25 crore with Kolkata shipbuilder :::: Yunus said polls will be held by in Bangladesh by June 2026, but Army chief Gen Zaman sets Dec 2025 as 'deadline' for elections

Bangladesh has cancelled a big-ticket defence contract worth Rs 180.25 crore with a Kolkata-based public sector shipbuilder amid worsening diplomatic ties with India, the company said.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), which operates under India’s Ministry of Defence, formally notified the stock exchange on Wednesday: “We wish to inform you that the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has cancelled the order.”

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Yunus in Bangladesh is power hungry. But he has the reputation of being a stooge.

Situated barely 20 km from the Indian border, Lalmonirhat airbase in Bangladesh lies close to the Siliguri Corridor. Developments in Bangladesh and even some speculation are curious.

Hurt and almost exposed that its weapon system is as good as 'reputed' day-today usage daily essentials; Beijing is now keen to develop friendship with Bangladesh.

It's the same old billiard game. Friendship with Bangladesh would mean targeting Indian military installations. Basically to keep eyes.

China should be more concerned that its reputation as a manufacturing hub vis-a-vis money-spinning defence equipment has come a cropper. 

Now, Muhammad Yunus, the head of the interim government in Bangladesh, threatened to resign if all the parties didn't offer him their full support. 

This came a day after Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman called for elections to be held by December 2025.

The BNP also sought a road map for polls. Yunus' resignation buzz is being seen as a ploy to launch a fresh agitation in Dhaka. It goes without stating that from getting the Awami League banned to stalling women's reforms to gutting Mujibur Rahman's Dhanmondi 32 residence, mobs of students and Islamists have had their way in Bangladesh. 

In every case, Yunus was complicit in silence if not in the planning.

For it part, China will be more than keen now to conduct aerial surveillance and reconnaissance on Indian military installations. Like many things - old and new - Bangladesh or for that matter even East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971 did not do much at Lalmonirhat base.

Sheikh Hasina wanted to do something - but more as a good memory of her father Late Mujib - the founder of Bangladesh.

Since August 2024 after Hasina moved to India; several security related measures have been taken in this region by New Delhi.

India is also monitoring the developments.

In March 2025, the cat was out of the Bangladeshi 'rotten bag'.

The remote-controlled dispensation unveiled plans in March to revive the dormant World War II-era airfield.

Originally built in 1931 by the British it was a useful location during the Burma Campaign. Now, Chinese support has been promised and Chinese officials - both civil and military also visited the place. 

Great Wall & Blogger - pre Covid era 

Remember Yunus, also a falsely glorified economist, has said: "The eastern part of India, known as the Seven Sisters, is landlocked. 

They have no access to the ocean. We are the only guardians of the ocean in this region. This opens up huge possibilities.”

He was inviting China to inch closer to Bangladesh and 'unsettle' vulnerable corridor of India.

New Delhi is aware of the sinister designs. New Delhi rightly sees that the Lalmonirhat is only a part of a 'larger project and design'. 

PM Narendra Modi gave his message to Yunus when they met in Bangkok. But some people ask for much clearer and harsher messages. Like Gen Asim Munir - just to survive as a military 'dictator' from backdoor he forced the armed conflict with India and got many terrorists killed and probably 10-11 air bases destroyed.  

Yunus also is playing his game.

Though Yunus has said elections will be held by June 2026, there is a growing impatience among political parties, including the BNP.

Even Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman issued a stern warning on Wednesday that the Yunus-led interim government would have to hold elections by December. 

General Zaman's remarks were significant.

During a show of unity in the armed forces, General Zaman also lashed out against the Yunus government for trying to take a unilateral decision on the "bloody" Rakhine corridor and interfering in military matters.

Experts and commentators have expressed fear that Yunus might try to use the July Proclamation to cling on to power by declaring a new Republic, repealing the 1972 Constitution and removing General Zaman.

There are suspicions that Yunus might try to use Islamist mobs to remove General Zaman.

There is a growing concern in Bangladesh that the Rakhine corridor would impede upon its sovereignty and is being pushed by the US for geo-strategic gains.   

The Bangladesh Army chief called it a "bloody corridor" and pushed back the project after Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain unilaterally announced that the interim government had agreed to the proposed Rakhine corridor. 

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