‘Misplaced’: India rejects Bangladesh’s allegations of Awami League ‘activities’ in Delhi, Kolkata

Dhaka called on New Delhi to “immediately ensure the closure” of alleged Awami League-linked centres, warning they amounted to “an affront against the people and State of Bangladesh.”

In a post on X, the Bangladesh foreign ministry wrote, “Activities by the banned BANGLADESH AWAMI LEAGUE on Indian soil risks long-term friendship and multifarious engagements between Bangladesh & India as also mutual trust and respect between two people.”

According to Dhaka, “absconding members of a banned political party” were conducting campaigns in India that undermined Bangladesh’s interests, with purported offices said to be operating in Kolkata and New Delhi.

“Any form of political activity campaigning against the interests of Bangladesh by Bangladeshi nationals, particularly by the absconding leaders/activists of a banned political party, staying on Indian soil, legally or illegally, including the establishment of offices, is an unambiguous affront against the people and State of Bangladesh,” the statement read.

“This development also risks upholding the good-neighbourly relations with India driven by mutual trust and mutual respect, and lends serious implications for the political transformation underway in Bangladesh,” the statement mentioned, adding that the issue “might also trigger public sentiment in Bangladesh, which may in turn impact the ongoing efforts of the two countries in further enhancing the relationship between the two closest neighbours.”

“The government of Bangladesh, therefore, would urge the government of India to take immediate steps to ensure that no anti-Bangladesh activity is undertaken by any Bangladeshi national from being in the Indian soil…,” the statement added.

India’s response

India has rejected Dhaka’s accusations, saying it had no knowledge of such activities and would not allow them under any circumstances. “The Government of India is not aware of any anti-Bangladesh activities by purported members of the Awami League in India or of any action that is contrary to Indian law. The Government does not allow political activities against other countries to be carried out from Indian soil,” the MEA said.

Calling the charge “misplaced,” New Delhi reiterated its position on Bangladesh’s political future, saying that “free, fair and inclusive elections will be held at the earliest in Bangladesh to ascertain the will and mandate of the people.”

The Awami League, led by former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has come under mounting pressure since last year’s student-led protests. Amid intensifying unrest and accusations of authoritarian rule, Hasina stepped down and has since been living in exile.

Hasina and her party have rejected the charges against them as politically motivated, calling them part of a larger campaign by rivals and Islamist forces to erase her influence from Bangladesh’s political landscape.

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