'India should be careful in choosing its friends in Bangladesh'

DHAKA: In an election year, the message from the ruling establishment in Dhaka to New Delhi is clear – “India should be careful in choosing its friends in Bangladesh,” in the words of media advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Iqbal Shobhan Chowdhury. He was addressing a session at the India-Bangladesh media conclave on bilateral relations between the two countries.

In a clear communique on behalf of the ruling Awami League establishment, Chowdhury said, “For India to trust BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party is the main opposition), is comparable to the US or the CIA supporting Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan who created the biggest trouble for America later. Hence, India should be careful in choosing its friends in Bangladesh.” Hasina’s media advisor was talking in the context of India-Bangladesh ties that Dhaka claims was on its best pitch, after it took years to strengthen by defeating an anti-Indian, anti-liberal forces that prevailed in the pre-Hasina regime.

With the ruling Awami League fighting to keep up Bangladesh’s secular credential while facing a threat from radical forces that it blames Pakistan for, Dhaka has grown closer to India in recent years and has sought New Delhi’s cooperation in dealing with jihadi elements on its soil during the Hasina regime, which in turn is also to India’s advantage. The streets of Dhaka already have campaign lines on posters including an unusual one that says “Begum Khaleda ke vote deben na (do not vote for Begum Khaleda Zia).”

Chowdhury also tried addressing India’s apprehensions about increasing Chinese footprints in Bangladesh, as he mentioned that “for Bangladesh, China is no replacement for India as a friend,” as if it were a quid pro quo from Dhaka.

Almost in the same lines, Awami League general secretary and communication minister Obaidur Kader in his address at the conclave was even more direct. He said, “Amader bikalpo Pakistaner bondhura (Our replacement are friends of Pakistan).” Interestingly, he also came up with a justification of Awami League aligning with hardliners Jamaat-e-Islami to form government saying “it was a strategic alliance we had to go for to come to office,” as if trying to clarify matters with India, with national elections coming by the end of the year and PM Hasina seeking another term in the face of anti-incumbency.

Asked about what happens if she loses the next elections, Sheikh Hasina told visiting Indian journalists at her residence, “The Prime Minister’s chair is for just five years, but since my father (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) liberated this country, I try to lead my life for that purpose and will continue to do so. I believe people understand that.”

About her ties with India, Hasina was prompt in her reply. “Governments will come and go, but neighbours will remain and all problems can be solved bilaterally,” she said.