Bangladesh interim government must protect minorities: India

Expressing concern about the deteriorating law and order situation in Bangladesh, exacerbated further by the release of violent extremists who were sentenced for serious crimes, the Indian government reiterated Friday that it's the interim government's responsibility to protect Hindus and other minorities. The govt also said it supports a stable, peaceful, inclusive and progressive Bangladesh in which all issues are resolved through democratic means and by holding inclusive and participatory elections.

It also urged Dhaka to probe the perpetrators of killings and arson without making any distinction. "We have repeatedly underlined that it is the responsibility of the interim govt of Bangladesh to protect Hindus and other minorities, as well as their properties and religious institutions," said MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal.

"However, only 1,254 incidents out of over 2,374 incidents reported from Aug 5, 2024 to Feb 16, 2025 have been verified by police. Further, 98% of these 1,254 incidents were deemed 'political in nature'. We expect Bangladesh to thoroughly investigate and bring all perpetrators of killings, arson and violence to justice without making such distinctions,'' he added.

But the Indian govt backed development cooperation with Bangladesh, in line with the strong people-to-people ties, even as the security situation blocks progress in implementation of Indian projects. "Development cooperation is a priority area of our relations with the people of Bangladesh. The recent security situation and long-standing local issues have affected the pace of implementation of some of these projects. The official discussions, therefore, focused on rationalising the project portfolio and executing mutually agreed projects in a time bound manner," Jaiswal said.