Kolkata's largely circulated Bengali daily newspaper Anandabazar
Patrika (ABP) has reported on December 31 that Sheikh Hasina has
invited Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee to remain present in
her oath taking ceremony in Dhaka.
According to the ABP report, the grand alliance leader and Awami
League President Sheikh Hasina has made a phone call to the Foreign
Minister of India Pronab Mukherjee requesting him to remain present at
the oath taking ceremony of her next government.
This was reported in the (ABP) in its 31st December issue, which this
correspondent retrieved from Internet. The ABP correspondent Joyanta
Ghosal reported from New Delhi, quoting a source at South Block
(India's foreign ministry), that the Manmohan Singh government did not
want to go ahead with any great expectation about Bangladesh although
the grand alliance of Sheikh Hasina won a great victory.
The report states that Sheikh Hasina means the past illusion of
liberation war particularly to the people of West Bengal. The report
probably for the first time prefixed the word 'Bangabandhu' before the
name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and said: "Yet the Bangalee Foreign
Minister of India does not want to go by emotion, though the daughter
of 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is poised to come to power."
ABP report says that after her victory in the election Sheikh Hasina
called the Bangalee Foreign Minister of India, "Dada, you will have to
come to participate in the oath taking ceremony (of my government)
with Boudi." But the Foreign Minister of India has not yet decided
whether he will attend the oath taking ceremony in Dhaka, though he
will surely visit Bangladesh before the elections of Lok Sabha, the
report added.
Several years ago when Pronob Babu switched his responsibility from
Defence Minister to Foreign Minister, the Foreign Minister of the BNP
government was the first among the foreign countries who sent him the
congratulatory message, the report said. The report added that India
had invited Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed to participate in the SAARC
Conference after the installation of the Caretaker Government (CG) of
Bangladesh to power.
The report said that, at that time a journalist, who is close to
Hasina, asked a question to this correspondent as to why India was not
coming forward in support of Sheikh Hasina openly in such a restive
situation. India did not do that. On the other hand, Foreign Minister
Pronab Mukherjee went to visit Bangladesh with relief materials.
During that visit it was seen that Pronob Babu was repeatedly
informing the CG about matters of mutual concern and he never wanted
to poke his nose into the internal politics of Dhaka. As Pronab Babu
says: "This is 2008, not 1971. At that time what India did that was
the necessity of the given circumstances. Now the situation has changed."
The ABP report further said: "Now India's stance is, India would
establish relations with whoever comes to power in the sovereign
neighbouring country. Even Delhi can not say that "it would not keep
relationship if military rule is imposed in any neighbouring country."
The report pointed out that once Indian premier Pundit Nehru opened
dialogue with Field Marshal Ayub Khan of Pakistan. Indira Gandhi was
compelled to initiate talks with Gen. Ziaul Haque after the hanging of
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Again Atal Bihari Bazpayee gave democratic
recognition to Parvez Musharraf by according him red carpet reception
at the Agra Summit just after the wounds of Kargil war. Atal Bihari
Vajpayee government also maintained good relations with Bangladesh
during the rule of Khaleda Zia, and continued bilateral relations.
The report recalled that during the SAARC conference in Katmandhu,
Khaleda Zia listened to Vajpayee's prescription for curing her knee
pain. Again Brojesh Misra did not hesitate to visit Dhaka to warn
about terrorist activities against India."
The report stated: "Pranob Babu, a follower of Indira Gandhi, knows
Sheikh Hasina personally for a long time." It is doubtless that Sheikh
Hasina has an image of a 'daughter of the same household' to New Delhi
and West Bengal. It is obviously easy for India to go for diplomatic
negotiations with the same much known 'daughter of Mujib'. But the
Foreign Minister i.e. Indian government is aware of the limitations of
the future government of Dhaka.
The report further said in the past Hasina had to pay a heavy price
for her 'friend of India image', when she was in power. Hasina also
learnt a lesson from her past experience. This time Jatiya Party of
Ershad is the ally of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, if Jamaat-e-Islami
is the ally of Khaleda Zia's BNP. Like the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Jatiya
Party also announced that they would introduce blasphemy law in their
party manifesto. And it was Ershad who declared Islam as the State
religion when he was in power. As a result the other religious
communities became second class citizens.
The report further added: "Sheikh Mujibur Rahman wanted to lead the
country towards the path of secularism. Delhi is doubtful about the
ability of the 'daughter of Mujib' to renounce the influence of the
fundamentalist forces, when the party of Ershad is her ally. Jatiya
Party of Ershad also bagged 27 seats; so it will have some kind of
control. Besides, there will be a control from the cantonment, whoever
may come to power, under the given political situation of Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina is also not beyond the control of the military, though
she is not like Khaleda. Keeping all these in mind India wants to
strengthen the relations with Bangladesh because of recent conflict
with Pakistan. The objective is that Pakistan can not use Bangladesh
as the field of its anti-India activities. Referring to the act of
terrorism on the soil of Bangladesh Pronab Babu has made it crystal
clear. He said, "The problem will be raised when new government will
be installed. Let us see how far we can achieve."
The Ananada Bazar Patrika report further stated: "This was the only
hope of Delhi that the military and Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh have
not been strengthened as in Pakistan." This time it is also clear in
the elections' result. The military wanted a fragile government.
People have voted en-masse in favour of the alliance of Sheikh Hasina.
The Jamaat-e-Islami has become obscure as it is seen in the results of
the votes. Yet it is not that the extreme forces of the party of
Ershad would try to hold the country inside 'veils'. Will Hasina be
able to complete the trial of the killers of Sheikh Mujib by
neglecting those extreme forces? Will Hasina be able to chant the
slogans of development by discarding the anti-Indian card, when
Norendra Modi is not stepping back from demolishing temple in the
interest of development ? South Block is waiting to see that."
http://www.weeklyholiday.net/front.html#07
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