Ahead of former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina’s media address, the Indian government sought to distance itself from the event saying that India doesn’t endorse the views that may be expressed at the event. However, Dhaka, which had raised the issue with Indian high commissioner Dinesh Trivedi on Monday, remains unconvinced as diplomatic sources said allowing Hasina to make a political speech might rock an already unsteady relationship.Hasina, who has announced she plans to return to Bangladesh in December despite the death sentence awarded to her, is scheduled to virtually address a media event at the foreign correspondents’ club on Wednesday evening. This would be Hasina’s first media address since she fled to India after being deposed on August 5, 2024. The MEA said that the interaction was being organized by a private media entity. “The government has no involvement whatsoever in it. Neither does it endorse any views that may be expressed at the forum,” said spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. The ministry recently told a Parliamentary committee that while providing refuge to Hasina, India had strictly adhered to the principle that no political activity is directed against any other country from Indian soil.The Indian government also for the first time confirmed that Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman had been invited by India for the BRICS summit that it will host in September. While PM Narendra Modi had earlier invited Rahman to India for a bilateral visit, the government said that the invitation on this occasion is for a BRICS outreach session and in Rahman’s capacity as the current chair of BIMSTEC.
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While Bangladesh aspires for BRICS membership and has already received support from Russia and China for its candidature, Rahman will likely be wary of any domestic fallout of travelling to India amid the unresolved Hasina extradition issue. Jamaat-e-Islami’s ascendancy as the primary opposition party may also restrict Rahman from soft-pedalling the Hasina issue. Dhaka has not yet formally accepted or declined the invitation that was extended by Modi to Rahman for BRICS. “You would be aware that a formal invitation for a bilateral visit to India was extended to the Bangladesh PM upon his assumption of office in Feb 2026. As far as the BRICS Summit is concerned, India has separately extended an invitation to Bangladesh PM in his capacity as the current Chair of BIMSTEC to attend the outreach session of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi,” said the spokesperson. “The invitation has been extended as per the standard practice being followed in BRICS for the outreach sessions. Other heads of regional groups have also been invited in a similar manner,” he added.