Bangladesh calls Indian foreign secretary's remark on elections 'unwarranted'

Dhaka: Bangladesh's interim government on Wednesday described Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's comments on the general election as "completely unwarranted", saying it is entirely an internal affair of the country.

"I see that statement as not their matter; it is entirely an internal issue for Bangladesh, and such comments are completely unwarranted,” Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain told reporters.

Hossain made the remarks when asked to comment on Misri's statement that India is firmly in favour of holding free, fair and inclusive elections in Bangladesh at the earliest, and it is ready to work with any government chosen by the people in the polls.

Dhaka-New Delhi ties were strained after the interim government assumed power following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League regime in a violent student-led movement dubbed the “July Uprising” in August 2024, when she left for India.

The interim government in May disbanded Awami League’s activities until the trial of Hasina and leaders of her government were completed on charges of brutal attempts to tame the July protestors and other alleged misdeeds carried out during her protracted regime from 2009.

Analysts said Misri’s call for “inclusive and participatory” elections in Bangladesh carried a political significance, while most of the Awami League leaders were imprisoned or on the run at home and abroad.

The interim government earlier sent a diplomatic note to New Delhi seeking Hasina’s extradition to stand trial, as she is being tried in absentia.