Former Indian Union Minister and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has said that ousted former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should be allowed to stay in India for as long as she wants.
He said that Sheikh Hasina has been an important partner in India-Bangladesh relations for a long time and the Indian government should take a sympathetic decision for her safety.
This was reported by Indian news agency PTI in a report.
Mani Shankar Aiyar expressed satisfaction over the fact that Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Dhaka last month and held talks with the authorities there.
He told PTI that these talks should continue and India should establish contact with the interim government of Bangladesh at the cabinet level.
Regarding the demand for Sheikh Hasina’s return from Bangladesh, Aiyar said, “I believe we will all agree that Sheikh Hasina has done a lot of good for us. I am happy that she has been given shelter. We should keep her as a guest for as long as she wants to stay, even until the end of her life.’
Sheikh Hasina, 77, fled India on August 5 in the face of mass protests, ending her 16-year rule. Hasina has been living in India since then.
Aiyar believes that the attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh are true, but in most cases they are political attacks on Sheikh Hasina’s supporters.
This statement by the former Congress leader is significant. The Indian media is reporting differently on the persecution of minorities in Bangladesh.
The senior Congress leader said, ‘While the attacks on Hindus are true, in many cases they are caused by political differences.’
