There could be a conspiracy angle in former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, the government said at today’s all-party meeting on the situation in the violence-hit country, sources have said.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, it is learnt, said that several political players could be involved in the conspiracy to topple Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh.
Mr Jaishnakar was responding to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi who had asked if there could be an involvement of foreign powers, specifically Pakistan, in the dramatic developments in Dhaka over the past few weeks.
The government has been keeping a watch on the evolving situation and all possible angles were being looked into, he said.
The Foreign Minister briefed the leaders of all parties about steps taken by the Indian government to address the potential security, economic, and diplomatic repercussions of this situation.
He said that the government is in touch with the Bangladeshi Army – which is set to form an interim government after Ms Hasina’s ouster – to ensure the safety of Indian nationals and the minorities in Bangladesh.
Mr Jaishankar said the government is giving time to Sheikh Hasina – who arrived in India after her ouster – to “recover” and let them know about her next move.
Besides S Jaishankar, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also attended the meeting.
Ms Hasina landed at the Hindon Air Force base in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, which is 30km from Delhi last evening. She was received by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Sheikh Hasina is expected to leave for London later, sources told NDTV, where she may seek political asylum. However, there is no confirmation on whether the UK has offered asylum to her.
Sheikh Hasina had sought to quell nationwide protests against her government but she fled the country after fresh clashes on Sunday in which nearly 100 people were killed.
The anti-government rallies that began last month against civil service job quotas escalated into some of the worst unrest of Prime Minister Hasina’s 15-year rule and shifted into wider calls for the 76-year-old to step down.
