India on Friday voiced concern over Bangladesh releasing certain “violent extremists” and underlined that it is the responsibility of the interim government in Dhaka to protect Hindus and other minorities as well as their religious institutions.
New Delhi 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.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal acknowledged that the prevailing security situation in Bangladesh and long-standing local issues have affected the pace of implementation of some of the India-assisted projects in that country.
“We remain concerned about the deteriorating law and order situation, further exacerbated by the release of violent extremists, who were sentenced for serious crimes,” he said.
India has repeatedly underlined that it is the responsibility of the interim government to protect the Hindus and other minorities, as well as their properties and religious institutions, he said.
“However, only 1254 incidents out of over 2374 incidents reported from August 5, 2024 to February 16, 2025 have been verified by the police. Further, 98 per cent of these 1254 incidents were deemed `political in nature`,” Jaiswal said.
“We expect Bangladesh to thoroughly investigate and bring all perpetrators of killings, arson and violence to justice without making such distinctions,” he added.
There has been a sharp downturn in India-Bangladesh relations after deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka in August in the face of a massive anti-government protest.
The relations nosedived dramatically after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus failed to contain attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in that country.
To a question, Jaiswal said development cooperation is a priority area for India in the context of its 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,” he said.
“The official discussions therefore focused on rationalising the project portfolio and executing mutually agreed projects in a time bound manner,” he said.
“Subject to obtaining the committed support and pending clearances from the Bangladesh side, we plan to take these projects forward,” Jaiswal added.
He also said that the 86th meeting of the joint committee constituted to oversee the implementation of the Ganga Water treaty between India and Bangladesh was held on March 6 in Kolkata.
“This routine technical meeting, which is scheduled thrice annually, is part of an institutional structured mechanism associated with the implementation of the Treaty signed in 1996,” he said.
“At the meeting, the two sides discussed technical issues pertaining to the Ganga Water Treaty, measurement of water flows and other issues of mutual interest,” he noted.
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