Amid rising incidents of violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh, Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka, Pranay Verma, on Saturday met Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman Tarique Rahman.
Deputy High Commissioner Pavan Badhe was also present during the meeting that comes amid the backdrop of diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka.
The meeting also holds significance as Rahman is widely seen as the next prime minister of Bangladesh. With Awami League barred from contesting polls, Rahman’s BNP is the favourite to win the upcoming general elections scheduled to be held next month.
Ties between the South Asian neighbours have been strained since the fall of Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government in Bangladesh in 2024.
Hasina was ousted from power following a student-led uprising. She fled to India after a violent mob stormed her residence.
The Interim Government in Bangladesh has demanded India to hand over Hasina, who is also facing a death sentence over alleged crackdown on student protesters, using drones, helicopters and lethal weapons.
After her ouster, extremist forces reportedly gained prominence in the country, leading to a sharp rise in violence against minorities including Hindus.
In less than one month, at least eight Hindus have been killed in Bangladesh in separate incidents of violence.
Another Hindu dies in Bangladesh amid continued violence against minorities
India has raised the issue with Bangladesh but the latter has so far failed to curb the incidents of violence against Hindus.
On Friday, New Delhi demanded that Dhaka must take firm action against the ‘disturbing pattern of recurring attacks’ on minorities in its country.
“We continue to witness a disturbing pattern of recurring attacks on minorities, as well as their homes and establishments, business establishments by extremists in Bangladesh. Such communal incidents need to be dealt with swiftly and firmly,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, addressing his weekly media briefing in New Delhi.
India had also raised similar concerns last month but Bangladesh dismissed them as “exaggerated” and “motivated narratives.”
In a statement, the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said, “The Government of Bangladesh categorically rejects any inaccurate, exaggerated, or motivated narratives that misrepresent Bangladesh’s longstanding tradition of communal harmony.”
The Ministry further alleged “systematic attempts” to portray isolated criminal incidents as persecution of Hindus.
Referring to the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry’s remarks, Jaiswal said that attributing such incidents to personal rivalries was a troubling tendency.
“We have also observed a troubling tendency to attribute such incidents to personal rivalries, personal vendettas, political differences, and other extraneous reasons. Such disregard only emboldens the extremists and the perpetrators of such crimes and deepens the sense of fear and insecurity among the minorities,” he added.