India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday clarified that the government had no role in former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s press conference in New Delhi. The MEA in a weekly press briefing said “the Government had no role to play in what was an event by a private media entity. The Government does not endorse anything said at the forum, especially with regard to the duly constituted Government of Bangladesh.”
The event which was organised by a private media entity, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) of South Asia.
Earlier on Wednesday, Hasina held her first virtual press briefing from New Delhi since leaving Bangladesh in 2024.
During the interaction, she reiterated that she intends to return to Bangladesh in December and said she is prepared to face arrest, imprisonment or even threats to her life.
“Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people. I cannot stay away while my beloved countrymen are suffering… I want to go back in December,” she said.
Her remarks came two years after she left Bangladesh following the student-led movement in 2024 that resulted in the fall of her government.
Bangladesh criticised former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s live media interaction from New Delhi, describing the event as an “affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh” and warning that it could undermine efforts to improve relations with India.
In a statement issued on Wednesday (August 5), Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Hasina of using the interaction to launch “venomous vitriol” against Bangladesh and its people.
The Bangladesh foreign ministry noted that the media interaction was held on the second anniversary of the July Revolution, making the timing particularly sensitive. It described the event, conducted from Indian soil, as “an affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh” and “a grievous insult” to the “martyrs of the July Revolution”.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday also issued a similar statement clarifying that the Indian government has no involvement in former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s media interaction, stressing that the event is being organised by a private media entity.
Addressing a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government is neither associated with the programme nor endorses any views that may be expressed during the interaction.
“The interaction being referred to is being organised by a private media entity. The government has no involvement whatsoever in it and does not endorse any views that may be expressed at the forum,” Jaiswal said in response to a question about the August 5 event.
The clarification came a day after Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Advisor Humayun Kabir sought India’s cooperation in ensuring that no one from the Awami League, including Hasina, uses Indian territory to make political statements, according to local media reports.
