PM Tarique Rahman not going to India to attend BRICS summit

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the deterioration in relations was triggered by allowing fugitive autocrat Sheikh Hasina to face the media in Delhi on August 5 and deliver anti-Bangladesh remarks. The South Asia Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC South Asia) had organized this press conference on the second anniversary of the July mass uprising.

Multiple high-level sources in the Bangladesh government have said that after the recent incident, there is no longer any scope for the Prime Minister to participate in the BRICS outreach. It may be noted that as the current chair of the regional organization BIMSTEC, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had been invited to the conference through the Indian High Commission on July 14.

After Sheikh Hasina was given the opportunity to speak in Delhi, the Bangladesh government expressed strong anger. In a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was said that Bangladesh is deeply outraged by allowing a convicted and fugitive accused to face the media, giving her the opportunity to spread venomous remarks against the people and state of Bangladesh. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmad made it clear that India cannot play the 'Hasina card' on one hand and seek good relations with Bangladesh on the other — this is not acceptable.

Meanwhile, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs, has said that the Indian government does not support or endorse any statement by Sheikh Hasina. As part of normalizing relations, India's newly appointed High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi is meeting with Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, and is scheduled to have a courtesy meeting with the Prime Minister.