Om Birla reaches Dhaka for swearing-in of Tarique Rehman govt in Bangladesh

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday reached Dhaka to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government in the neighbouring country led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party(BNP) leader Tarique Rahman as the prime minister.

After reaching Dhaka, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and other officials, Birla said it was an important moment that will strengthen people-to-people relations and shared democratic values between the two neighbours.

"Honoured to be in Dhaka representing India at the swearing-in ceremony of the new government led by H.E.  Tarique Rahman as Prime Minister. It's an important moment that will strengthen people-to-people ties and shared democratic values between our two nations," Birla said in a post on X.

Bangladesh had invited Narendra Modi to the ceremony but the prime minister could not attend the event as he was scheduled to hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Led by Rahman, the BNP swept to power with a two-thirds majority with 49.97 per cent votes and 209 seats in the polls held on February 12, results for which were declared on February 13.

The Jamaat-e-Islami, which was opposed to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971, registered its best ever performance with 31.76 per cent votes and 68 seats. The National Citizen Party secured the third-highest number of seats, six, and 3.05 per cent votes.