Interest of Bangladeshis foremost; upto Hasina to decide future plans: India

As an interim government takes charge in Bangladesh India on Thursday said the interests of Bangladeshi people are foremost in its mind and that it is up to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to decide on her future travel plansOutlining New Delhis approach on the evolving situation in Bangladesh External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said it is the responsibility of every government to ensure the wellbeing of all its citizens He also said India wants restoration of peace and stability in the country as soon as possible so that normal life can beginThe comments came as Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus takes charge as interim leader of Bangladesh days after Prime Minister Hasina resigned on Monday and landed in Hindon airbase near Delhi following weeks of violent protests spearheaded by the Students Against Discrimination movementAs far as we are concerned the government of India and people of India are concerned for us the interest of people of Bangladesh is foremost in our minds Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefingWe also want to make it clear that it is the responsibility of every government to ensure the wellbeing of all its citizens We hope for early restoration of law and order in Bangladesh he addedThis is both in the interests of the country itself and for the larger region as a whole To a specific question on how long Hasina will stay in India Jaiswal said it is for her to take things forwardAs far as former prime minister Sheikh Hasina is concerned we do not have an update on her plans It is for her to take things forward he addedThe 76yearold Hasinas initial plan was to seek asylum in London However the plan has hit a roadblock following the UKs hesitation to provide her refugeSources said that it is for Hasina to decide where she wants to go from IndiaOn incidents of attacks on minority communities in Bangladesh Jaiswal said New Delhi is closely monitoring the situationRegarding reports that some people who came to India along with Hasina are leaving the country Jaiswal said it is for them to take forward what they think is in their best interestAs far as other members that you talked about they are responsible for themselves I also do not have an update on their plans It is for them to take forward what they think is in their best interests Jaiswal said India is engaged with the authorities in Dhaka and that it wants restoration of peace and stability in BangladeshWe are engaged with authorities in Dhaka We have before us an evolving situation As a close friend of the people of Bangladesh we want restoration of peace and stability in the country as soon as possible so that normal life can begin he saidJaiswal said India is in touch with the authorities to ensure safety and security of the Indian high commission and the assistant high commissions the people manning the missions and the Indians residing in that countryOur high commission is assisting Indians who want to return to India We want peace to return soon and it will be easy for our high commission our assistant high commission to begin their normal functioning he saidJaiswal said the overall situation in the neighbouring country is still evolvingResponding to a question on reports claiming that certain foreign powers were behind the situation in Bangladesh Jaiswal said We are closely analysing all aspects of recent developments in the neighbouring country Asked about Bangladeshs interim government Jaiswal said it is premature to comment on the developmentAs far as the interim government is concerned lets see lets wait It is slightly premature for us to comment on it The interest of Bangladeshi people is paramount to us he addedJaiswal also said nonessential staffers at the Indian high commission and their family members have returned to IndiaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever