Difficult To Honour Mutual Cooperation If India Helps Enemy Sheikh Hasina, Says BNP – News18

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the arch-rival of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party, expressed clear dissatisfaction over India hosting the ousted Prime Minister after she fled Dhaka amid violent protests and arrived in Delhi on Monday. BNP said it would be difficult to honour mutual cooperation if India helped its enemy (Hasina).

Veteran BNP functionary Gayeshwar Roy, who was a minister in the BNP-led government in 1991 and is a member of the party’s standing committee, told The Times Of India (TOI) that his party believed in Bangladesh and India’s mutual cooperation.

However, raising concerns, he said, “Indian government will have to understand and behave in a manner which follows that spirit. But if you help our enemy then it becomes difficult for that mutual cooperation to be honoured.”

“Our former foreign minister in the Hasina government mentioned before the last elections that India would support Sheikh Hasina’s return to power. India is essentially shouldering the burden of Sheikh Hasina’s liabilities. While Indian and Bangladeshi people generally get along well, should India be backing just one party rather than the whole nation?” Roy was responding to questions about the BNP’s perceived anti-India stance.

On Attacks On Hindus

Regarding the reports of attacks on Hindus and the perception of the BNP being anti-minority, Roy was quoted saying, “There is a perception that the BNP is anti-Hindu. However, the BNP comprises people from various communities in Bangladesh and supports all religions. As a high-ranking member of the BNP’s decision-making body and having served as a minister in this party’s administration, I can confirm that the BNP is a nationalist party that upholds the rights of all communities. In 1991, during my tenure as a minister, I initiated the system of donations for Durga Puja, and no subsequent government has discontinued it. This was done by our party’s government.”

On Terrorist Links

On concerns about terrorist elements using Bangladesh against India, Roy told TOI, “That’s another misconception. It’s not the truth. India played a significant role in our independence, and we cannot be against India.”

“We are a smaller country and rely on India for various needs, including medical facilities and other goods, which also generate substantial revenue for India from Bangladeshis,” he added.

When asked about the BNP’s relationship with Jamaat-e-Islami, Roy clarified, “The relationship is not ideological but rather tactical, related to electoral politics. The Awami League was in an official alliance with Jamaat. From 2018 to 2024, the BNP had no ties with Jamaat. There were left-wing and right-wing alliances, but Jamaat was not part of ours. Sheikh Hasina included Jamaat in her coalition and later formed the Hefazat-e-Islam group to counter Jamaat. Now, Hefazat is protesting against the Awami League. Jamaat supports elections.”

Regarding the formation of a new interim government, Roy noted, “Since students favored Dr Mohammad Yunus as the leader and preferred a non-political interim government, the BNP did not propose any names from the party.”

Yunus Takes Charge Of Interim Govt

Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus, 84, was sworn in as the head of an interim government in Bangladesh, following the resignation and departure of Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina stepped down in response to mass student-led protests against her government over a controversial job quota system.