India-Bangladesh relationship 'multifaceted, can't be reduced to just one issue,' says Indian envoy summoned by Dhaka

India is “willing to work with the interim government (in Bangladesh) and maintain friendly relations,” the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma told reporters after his meeting with acting foreign secretary M Riaz Hamidullah in Dhaka.

Verma, who was summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) of Bangladesh on Tuesday following the security breach at the Assistant High Commission (AHC) of Bangladesh in Tripura’s capital Agartala, said India-Bangladesh have a “wide-ranging and multi-faceted relationship” and that it could not be “reduced to just one issue”.

The summon was issued to the Indian High Commissioner hours after Bangladesh suspended consular and visa activities at its mission in Agartala “until further notice”, citing a “security situation."

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The Indian High Commission (IHC) in Bangladesh termed it as a “regular exchange", while Dhaka said Verma was summoned to express Bangladesh’s concerns about the breach of security at its mission in Agartala.

India willing to work with Yunus govt

After his meeting with Bangladesh’s acting foreign secretary, Verma said that India is interested in working with the Bangladesh government to fulfill the shared aspirations for peace, security and development.

“There is no reason for Bangladesh-India relations to be stuck on one issue. Our relationship is multi-dimensional."

‘India wants positive constructive relations with Bangladesh’

Verma further said that India is “willing to work” with Bangladesh’s interim government-led by Muhammad Yunus and “maintain friendly relations.”

“India wants to build positive constructive relations with Bangladesh,” Verma further said.

“In the last two months there have been some positive developments for our mutual cooperation. We have many positives. We are working with the interim government. We will work together in various fields, including economy," he said.

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‘He came as he was asked to come’

A report by PTI from Dhaka quoted a Bangladesh foreign ministry official as saying that “he (Verma) came as he was asked to come when we conveyed our concerns.”

Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Adviser Mohammad Touhid Hossain had earlier said the Indian envoy was asked to come to the foreign office after the Agartala incident.

Verma was summoned by Bangladesh MoFA over the security breach incident at the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Agartala, the capital city of the northeastern state of Tripura in India bordering Bangladesh, where a large group of people people carried out protest near Dhaka’s mission on Monday against the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das and attacks on the Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.

India-Bangladesh relations are going through a rough patch after Yunus took the charge to head the interim government following the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina who fled on August 5 after the anti-government student protests intensified in her country.

Meanwhile, several reports of attacks by Islamist hardliners on Bangladesh minorities including Hindu, Christian, tribal and adivasi have come to fore since Yunus came to power.

Bangladesh has been witnessing agitations after the arrest Das on November 25 also there have been protests in India’s neighbouring country where there has been growing demand for security and safety of minorities and their homes, businesses and places of worship.

With inputs from agencies.