New Delhi: Hours after the interim administration there issued a demarche to the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka, Pranay Verma, over incendiary statements by Sheikh Hasina, India rejected the accusations and called for “free and fair” elections in Bangladesh.
In a statement responding to a press note, the MEA said it “categorically rejects the assertions” made by Dhaka and reaffirmed its support for “free, fair, inclusive and credible elections” in Bangladesh.
“India has never allowed its territory to be used for activities inimical to the interests of the friendly people of Bangladesh,” the MEA said.
The rebuttal followed Bangladesh’s decision to summon India’s High Commissioner to convey what it described as “serious concern” over India’s role in sheltering Hasina. Bangladeshi officials accused her of calling on supporters to engage in terrorist activities to derail the upcoming elections.
In a press note, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated its demand for the “expeditious extradition” of former PM Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, saying both should face sentences already handed down by Bangladeshi courts.
The ministry also alleged that Awami League leaders based in India were planning and facilitating terrorist acts inside Bangladesh to obstruct the electoral process. Dhaka further called on New Delhi to prevent suspects linked to a recent attempted assassination of Bangladeshi political leader Sharif Osman Hadi from fleeing into India and to ensure their immediate arrest and extradition should they enter Indian territory.
Verma told Dhaka that India supported peaceful elections in Bangladesh and was ready to extend cooperation toward that goal, local reports said.
Bangladesh announced its election dates Thursday and said it would conduct parliamentary elections on 12 February, 2026. The Bangladesh Awami League rejected the election calling it “illegitimate and biased”.
“Attempting to hold an election while excluding the Bangladesh Awami League—the party that led the Liberation War—along with other political parties and the majority of the population, is a scheme to push the country and the nation into a deep crisis,” the statement posted on X read.
It added: “To prevent the current crisis from escalating, all restrictions imposed on the Bangladesh Awami League must be lifted, all fabricated cases against Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina, national leaders, and people from all walks of life must be withdrawn, all political prisoners must be released unconditionally, and the current deceitful occupying government must be replaced with a neutral caretaker government to hold a free and participatory election.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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