‘Complete failure of external affairs policy’: Priyank Kharge on Bangladesh unrest

MANDYA: Coming hard on the Centre over the political unrest in Bangladesh, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge on Tuesday said that it is a complete failure of external affairs policy.

“This is a complete failure of the external affairs policy. We used to be the big brother of the region, where each country would look up to India for help if there was any turmoil. Unfortunately, the Chinese influence is growing and it is a severe failure of the policies of the Modi government”, he said.

#WATCH | On Bangladesh political crisis, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge says, “This is a complete failure of the External Affairs Policy. We used to be the big brother for the region, where each country would look up to India for help if there was any turmoil. Unfortunately,… pic.twitter.com/e5Huu45BAq

— ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2024

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that there are an estimated 19,000 Indian nationals of which about 9,000 are students while assuring the country that the government is in close contact with the Indian community in Dhaka. Jaishankar informed the Lok Sabha that the bulk of the students returned to India in July.

“We are in close and continuous touch with the Indian community in Bangladesh through our diplomatic missions. There are an estimated 19,000 Indian nationals there of which about 9000 are students. The bulk of the students returned in July”, he said.

He also said that Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina requested approval from India to come at very short notice and she arrived on Monday evening.

“On August 5, demonstrators converged in Dhaka despite the curfew. Our understanding is that after a meeting with leaders of the security establishment, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apparently made the decision to resign. At very short notice, she requested approval to come for the moment to India. We simultaneously received a request for flight clearance from Bangladesh authorities. She arrived yesterday evening in Delhi”, he said.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Tuesday announced the dissolution of the country’s parliament to make way for the formation of an interim administration, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Based on the decision from a meeting of President Shahabuddin with the heads of the three armed forces, leaders of various political parties, representatives of civil society, and leaders of the Students Against Discrimination movement, the national parliament was dissolved, a press release from the president’s office stated.

It further said that Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been released from jail. The statement said that the process of releasing those detained in the student movement and various cases from July 1 to August 5 has begun, with many already being freed.

The protests, led majorly by students demanding an end to a quota system for government jobs, took the shape of anti-government protests. (ANI)