Jatiya Party (JPA) Chairman Golam Mohammad Quader (GM Quader) has commented that the ousted former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, should be brought back to the country and tried. In an interview given to the Indian news agency PTI, the JPA chairman made this comment.
GM Quader insists that Sheikh Hasina should be extradited from India. Sheikh Hasina should be tried in the courts of Bangladesh for all the crimes committed by her and her government during her regime.
Regarding the ‘Bharat Khedao’ campaign in Bangladesh, GM Quader said, this hatred is not against India. Rather, this hatred is against India’s policy of unquestioning support to a particular political party (Awami League) and its leader (Sheikh Hasina) in Bangladesh. When the people of both countries want good relations, it is important to stop the supremacy of one country. Instead, it is important to treat each other as equal partners.
This veteran politician said that it is not right to blame India for the floods in Bangladesh. This is a wrong interpretation. How can you blame someone for a flood or any natural disaster? It is normal for water to flow in low-lying areas. The problem we are facing is water scarcity from India. But if the water is not released during the rainy season, the embankments located there may break. Can cause a very large scale disaster.
GM Quader said, “It would have been better if there had been an advance warning from India, so that we would have had time to prepare.”
GM Quader made such comments in the context of various reports published from Dhaka blaming India for the floods in Bangladesh.
Flooding occurs due to monsoon rains in delta region Bangladesh and upstream Indian region. Several people died as a result. About 3 million people have been affected in Bangladesh. This has created a major administrative challenge for the newly formed interim government amid a political landscape in Bangladesh.
On Thursday, India claimed that the current flood situation in some parts of Bangladesh was caused by the opening of Gomti river dam in Tripura as false reports.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi that the flooding of common rivers in the two countries is a common problem for both countries, affecting the people of both countries. Both countries need close mutual cooperation to solve this problem.
GM Quader said, those who do not understand the situation and are using the current anti-India sentiment, are trying to mislead people. Naturally, water will flow downwards from a height. If excess water is not released from the dams, the dams may break, causing major disasters.
More than 200 rivers flow through Bangladesh. There are 54 common rivers between Bangladesh and India.
Responding to a question about growing anti-India sentiment in the country despite India being Bangladesh’s ‘time-tested friend’, GM Quader said the anti-India sentiment is not against the people of India, but against the policy makers. The anger is not against the Indian people, there are still people here who want good relations between people.
But the problem, says GM Quader, is that India supported the Awami League despite all its flaws, misrule, lack of fair elections and corruption, so much so that the Indian establishment is now seen as a supporter of the Awami League. And that’s why people are angry. That is why people see India as Bangladesh’s enemy.
Note that the interim government of Bangladesh canceled the diplomatic passports of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her former cabinet members.
Talking about the future of India-Bangladesh bilateral relations, GM Quader said that both countries need each other. After the fall of the Awami League government, a new and positive approach must be taken now.
JAPA Chairman said, Awami League is now past. We have to look ahead. Both countries should sit down. The way to develop bilateral relations should be reconsidered. However, both should be treated as equals in terms of relations between the two countries. And India should avoid any kind of bigoted attitude. One should not behave like a supreme lord.