DU Correspondent:

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has accused India of taking a contradictory position on former prime minister Sheikh Hasina by giving her a political platform while seeking friendly ties with Bangladesh.

He said such positions could not go together, adding that relations must be based on mutual respect and sovereignty.

Speaking at a discussion at Dhaka University on Saturday, Salahuddin accused Hasina of “conspiring against the government from India and making provocative remarks”.

He added that Indian government’s repeated platforming of her for meetings and statements was not what one would expect from a friendly neighbour.

The BNP leader, who was detained in India after going missing from Dhaka in 2015, said Bangladesh wanted friendly ties with India based on mutual dependence but would put its own interests first.

He also accused the former Awami League government of relying on India to stay in power.

Referring to the mass casualties of the July Uprising, the BNP leader said a United Nations report found Hasina had ordered the killing of more than 1,400 people.

“Children and women were shot from helicopters in the sky. Bangladeshis are asking how India can shelter and indulge such a convicted criminal and human rights violator as though she were a democratic leader,” he said.

Salahuddin himself went missing from Dhaka’s Uttara on Mar 10, 2015, amid BNP’s movement against the Awami League government, when he was serving as the party’s joint secretary general and spokesman.

He was found 63 days later, in a disoriented state, by police in Meghalaya’s Shillong on May 11 that year, and hospitalised.

Since he had no valid documents for entering India, Meghalaya police booked him under the Foreigners Act and showed him arrested.

He served jail time in that case before returning to Bangladesh after the 2024 Uprising.

Salahuddin said, “[Hasina] herself admitted that what she gave India, they would remember forever. Today, India has sheltered her in return for that.”

Addressing India directly, the home minister said: “We want a friendly relationship with you, and we respect interdependence. But we will never become the Awami League.

“We want to maintain bilateral relations while keeping Bangladesh’s interests above everything.”

Criticising the Awami League government, he said: “Awami League and [Hasina] practised politics by turning Dhaka into New Delhi. They clung to power backed by a particular country, disregarding the aspirations of the people.

“But the 2024 Uprising opened people’s eyes. People have now learned to give their blood.”

“Certain quarters tried to spread confusion to unnaturally prolong the interim government’s tenure. They claimed people wanted them for another five years,” he added. “They tried to sidestep the Constitution by invoking a revolutionary government.

“But the people’s aspiration is a free and fair election, and a transfer of power through democratic process.”

He called for a shift in political culture. “Tarique Rahman, upon being elected and taking oath, rushed to meet Opposition leaders. We will bring constitutional amendments to ensure a prime minister’s tenure never exceeds 10 years.

“We will introduce a system where MPs, independently and not directly, elect the president. We will bring in checks and balances between the upper house and lower house.

“The power of those elected by the people’s sovereign will shall be the Constitution’s core strength.

“We want to realise that aspiration for change, the aspiration of the martyrs. 2024 taught us a great deal. This Uprising opened people’s eyes.”

“’Fascism’ will never return to this soil. Let us all stand united against bad politics and ‘fascism’,” he added.