Bangladesh Closes down Agartala Consular office, Summons Indian Envoy
NEW DELHI, Dec 3: Bangladesh on Tuesday summoned India’s envoy to Dhaka within hours after closing its visa and consular office in Tripura following a strong protest against the alleged vandalism of its mission in Tripura.
Tensions between the two countries are high amid violence against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma arrived at the Foreign Ministry Office in Dhaka at 4 pm local time.
“He (Verma) came as he was asked to come when we conveyed him our concerns,” a Foreign Ministry official briefly said. Foreign Affairs Adviser Mohammad Touhid Hossain earlier said the Indian envoy was asked to come to the foreign office after the Agartala incident.
“The Indian High Commissioner has been summoned by acting foreign secretary Reaz Hamidullah,” Bangladesh’s state-run news agency said. Hours earlier, a notice from the Bangladesh High Commissioner’s office in Tripura stated that “Given the security situation, all visa and consular services at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission, Agartala will remain suspended until further notice.”
It also stated that “This comes into effect immediately.” Around 50 people had participated in a massive protest against the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in Agartala on Monday.
During the protest, they entered the premises of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission. This drew a sharp response from the interim government in the neighbouring country. Dhaka alleged that local police were “not found to be active in containing the situation.” It said the incident had left the mission staff with a “deep sense of insecurity” and called upon New Delhi to take “immediate action.”
The Ministry of External Affairs responded that the incident in “deeply regrettable.” “Diplomatic and consular properties should not be targeted under any circumstances. Government is taking action to step up security arrangements for the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and their Deputy/Assistant High Commissions in the country,” a statement said. The number of cops at the Bangladesh mission in Agartala has been stepped up after Monday’s incident.
Mr Verma told reporters emerging from the meeting with Mr Hamidullah, said Delhi wanted to build a “constant stable, constructive relationship” with Bangladesh saying no single issue should stand a barrier for bilateral ties. “We are willing to engage with the interim government of Bangladesh,” he
“We have a wide-ranging, multi-faceted relationship, and as I have said before, you cannot reduce it to one issue or one agenda. We are working across many issues. We (India) always wants to build a positive, stable and constructive relationship. There are many interdependencies we have and we want to build on that to mutual benefit.”
He further said. “We will keep ensuring that our cooperation benefits our two peoples. The number of positive developments to our relationship in the last few months – from trade, to power transmission, to supplying essential commodities – we have maintained a lot of positivity in our relationship.” “We are also willing to work with the interim government in Bangladesh. We are committed to work with them to fulfil our shared aspirations for peace, security and development.”
India has taken up the issue of Hindus being targeted in Bangladesh and priests being arrested by the authorities in Bangladesh. There have also been multiple incidents of violence, vandalism and desecration targeting the minority Hindu community.
Earlier in the day, terming the vandalism at Bangladesh’s diplomatic mission in Agartala as India’s “failure,” Law Affairs Adviser in the interim government Asif Nazrul asked New Delhi to reassess its neighbour afresh after the toppling of the Sheikh Hasina regime.
“We believe in a friendship based on equality and mutual respect. While Sheikh Hasina’s government followed a pro-India policy to cling to power without elections, India must realise that this is not Sheikh Hasina’s Bangladesh,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
The tension between the two neighbours simmering since August 5, when deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India, aggravated further with the arrest of the Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das last week. Three days after Hasina fled to India following widespread protests against her Awami League-led government over a controversial job quota system, Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel laureate, took over as the Chief Adviser of the interim government.
Nazrul alleged an outfit named Hindu Sangharsh Samiti was responsible for what he described as “the disgraceful act” when Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala was vandalised, and “Bangladesh’s national flag was set on fire.” He emphasised that Bangladesh is an independent, sovereign, and self-respecting nation driven by a “fearless and dynamic young generation.”
(Manas Dasgupta)
