What happened
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the Government of India has no involvement in an upcoming press conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC), where Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina plans to speak on Wednesday. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the press conference is organised by a private media entity and that India does not endorse any views expressed at the forum.
Background and earlier position
The MEA clarification came after Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kobir met India’s High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi in Dhaka. During the Dhaka meeting, Humayun Kobir cautioned that continued political activities by Sheikh Hasina on Indian territory could harm bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh.
What changed now
The immediate change is an explicit MEA denial of involvement in the FCC press conference and an explicit clarification that India does not endorse views expressed at the FCC event. Separately, reporting from the FCC quoted an FCC president as saying Sheikh Hasina would announce plans to return to Bangladesh during an exclusive interactive session.