India was aware of anti-Hasina wave but could not interfere: Jaishankar

India was aware of an anti-Sheikh Hasina wave building up in Bangladesh ahead of the violent overthrow of the former Prime Minister’s government on 5 August 2024, reports Indian media outlet The Hindu quoting the country’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

The Indian foreign minister divulged this information to the country’s Consultative Committee on External Affairs on Saturday.

According to him, however, India was not in a position to do much as it lacked the necessary leverage over Sheikh Hasina, who could only be “advised”, he told the MPs.

The Hindu also reported that Jaishankar indicated that India — like a few other leading stakeholders — had been aware of the tumultuous situation inside Bangladesh.

He also mentioned the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk’s recent remarks about the UN warning the Bangladesh army against a confrontation with unarmed protesters during the anti-Hasina protests, that such a move would prompt the UN to ban the army from peacekeeping operations.

The Consultative Committee on External Affairs members met Jaishankar for an open discussion on India’s foreign policy where the circumstances in the neighbourhood — especially in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan — dominated.

The Hindu report also stated that while the interim government in Bangladesh has initiated dialogue with India, the Dhaka-Delhi relationship has been fraught with tension in view of India providing asylum to Sheikh Hasina.

The report further said that Bangladesh has requested India for a meeting between Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC meeting in Bangkok, Thailand between 2 and 4 April this year.

Delhi, however, has remained tight-lipped about the possibility of meeting as of now, it added.