Not a right move for her politics: Touhid on Mamata's Bangladesh gamble

Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Monday said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's call for the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission in Bangladesh is typical and will not benefit her politics.

"I want to see Mamata's comment as only her own. I didn't understand why she made the remark. I personally think it’s not a right move for her politics," he said while responding to questions from reporters while briefing diplomats stationed in Dhaka on the minority issues at state guesthouse Padma.

The adviser said politicians always speak from a political point of view but West Bengal's politics might not be favourable to Mamata's stance. He said it is his opinion that Mamata certainly thinks in a different way.

It is to be mentioned that addressing the West Bengal Assembly, Mamata urged the UN to send a peacekeeping team to Bangladesh to take action against "torture on minority".

Asked about the lack of cordiality and ongoing tensions in Dhaka-Delhi relations, Touhid Hossain said there are actually problems in the relations between the two countries since 5 August but Bangladesh wants a normal and good relationship.

He said, "It's very difficult to measure sincerity. It should be measured by the media. Here interest is more important than cordiality for both. I think both Bangladesh and India will advance the relationship according to their own interests."

Speaking about the arrest of former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, the foreign adviser said foreign diplomats have been briefed on his arrest and the legal process. 

"We said his followers were able to protest as this independence has been confirmed by the interim government."

Pointing out that a special group is carrying out an anti-Bangladesh campaign globally, Touhid Hossain said, "They're running disinformation and in this case they've employed all the power. We accept that their power in this matter is greater than ours. But we're trying to make it clear to everyone."

He alleged that these campaigners have influenced the Commonwealth All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to publish a report recently, detailing the aftermath of Bangladesh's political turmoil following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August.

"We'll talk to Britain about the report. They've published a one-sided report," the adviser said.

Noting that the report evaluated the last four general elections on the same scale, he said, "They didn't mention a single word about the standards of the elections. Some 1,500 people were killed (in the July-August uprising), but they didn't write a word about this."

Speaking about the accusation of attacks on minority communities, Touhid Hossain said the Indian media is spreading false information about the minority situation in Bangladesh. 

"Mainly Indian media is spreading misinformation. Apart from this, many media houses are spreading misinformation after being encouraged by Indian media," he said.

Admitting some sporadic incidents of attacks on minority communities, the adviser said, "During the tenure of all the governments, one or two isolated incidents take place in a year. But the government's job is to control the situation. We did that."