"India does not endorse remarks made by Sheikh Hasina at a privately organised event" - MEA :::::: "Indian Govt had no role to play in an event organised by a private media entity"

 India doesn't endorse comments made at Sheikh Hasina media event, says MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs said the Government of India had no role in Sheikh Hasina's August 5 media interaction and does not endorse the remarks made at the privately organised event.  

Diplomacy : There's always Official about it 

Dr S Jaishankar and Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman 

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters in Delhi:

"The government had no role to play in what was an event by a private media entity, and it does not endorse anything said at the forum, especially with regard to the duly constituted government of Bangladesh."

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday clarified that the Government of India had no role in a media interaction featuring former Bangladesh prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5.

During the media interaction on Wednesday, Aug 5 (exactly after 2 years since she arrived India after being ousted) Hasina had declared that she was determined to return to Bangladesh in December to put the country on the "right track".

She pledged to restore democracy despite the possibility of imprisonment or being 'killed'.  

The former Bangladesh prime minister made the remarks during an audio-only virtual press conference in Delhi.

Attendees heard only her voice though her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy appeared on screen and also spoke while answering questions and also slammed Pakistan. 

"I know, they may put me in jail or kill me. I will go back home to be with my people," Shaikh Hasina has said.  

"Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people. I cannot stay away while my beloved countrymen are suffering," she said.

Hasina also ruled out any back-channel negotiations with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government over her return. She demanded that the ban on the Awami League 

be lifted, 

*political prisoners be released, 

** false cases be withdrawn, freedom of speech and 

*** media freedom be restored, and judicial independence be guaranteed.

Calling India a "great friend" of Bangladesh, Hasina said New Delhi had always stood by her country in difficult and "disastrous" times. 

She also appealed to the international community to support the people of Bangladesh in their struggle for democracy, justice and peace, saying the country's crisis could affect regional peace, security, trade and development. 

Dhaka has disapproved Hasina's presser and also expressed displeasure at the manner India allowed the event to take place.  

The media show was organised by the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Delhi. 

Hasina alleged that the July-August 2024 protests that led to the fall of her government were not a spontaneous student movement but were orchestrated by organised groups to create a path to power outside the electoral process. 

Sajeeb even said - " Bangladesh is new Pakistan now" and that India and the rest of the world should take note of it. 

ends