Rohingya crisis: Sushma Swaraj calls Sheikh Hasina, says India supports Bangladesh's stance on issue

India on Thursday extended full support to Bangladesh over its stance on the Rohingya issue, media reports said. [caption id=“attachment_3891429” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Sushma Swaraj. PTI[/caption] According to bdnews24,a Bangladesh-based media group, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj called the prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina on Thursday and expressed New Delhi’s support to Dhaka. According to Hasina’s deputy press secretary Nazrul Islam, Swaraj said that “New Delhi’s position is same as of Dhaka over the Rohingya issuee”, the report added. Dhaka had earlier briefed New Delhi about the problems faced by it due to the influx of these refugees. Swaraj also said that the Rohingya problem is not limited to Bangladesh alone, but has turned into a global matter, reported The Daily Star, a leading Bangladesh-based newspaper. The Indian government is trying to put pressure on Myanmar, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to stop the alleged persecution of Rohingya Muslims and take back the refugees who have taken shelter in Bangladesh, Prothom Alo reported. The move comes amid India’s decision to send relief materials to Bangladesh, which is struggling to solve the humanitarian crisis. Under Operation Insaniyat , India sent 53 tonnes on Thursday of the total 7,000 tonnes meant for the relief. The material includes items required urgently by the affected people like rice, pulses, sugar, salt, cooking oil, tea, ready to eat noodles, biscuits, and mosquito nets. “India stands ready to provide any assistance required by government of Bangladesh in this hour of need,” an Indian external affairs ministry statement had said on Thursday. Bangladesh had earlier said the new influx of Rohingya refugees is an unbearable additional burden on the country. According to the United Nations estimates, over 3,89,000 Rohingya Muslims ie over 40 percent of them have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state into Bangladesh since 25 August. With inputs from PTI