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Foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Monday said that the interim government wanted a ‘normal and good relation’ with New Delhi while maintaining mutual interests of both nations. 

He said that Dhaka’s relation with New Delhi before the August 5 situation was not the same since the fall of Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India amid the student-led mass uprising bringing an end to her over 15-year autocratic regime.

‘We want a normal and good relation with India maintaining mutual interests of the two countries. The county’s interest lies in the core of our relation,’ said Touhid, also a former diplomat, responding to a question over Bangladesh’s relation with India after the changeover with professor Muhammad Yunus leading the interim government since August 8. 

The adviser was talking to reporters after briefing the diplomats stationed in Dhaka at state guesthouse Padma and explaining the government’s position on minority issues and  describing the present situation on the ground.

Around 60 diplomats from almost all missions and countries, including United States, United Kingdom and European Union, joined the diplomatic briefing. The Indian High Commission, however, sent its representative holding the rank of counsellor in place of the High Commissioner.

The foreign adviser said that they shared with the diplomats under what circumstances former ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, now in jail, was arrested.   

He said that the message he tried to convey to the foreign envoys was that religious harmony was an integrated part of

Bangladesh’s society and it was again proved

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‘The government is determined to maintaining that harmony. We would contain with strong hand if anyone tries to incite sectarian violence,’ he added.

The adviser said that some organisations were engaged in spreading propaganda against Bangladesh to destabilise the situation here.

Touhid said that a section of the media, especially in India, was engaged in propaganda.

‘We have told them that we as a society have always been maintaining communal harmony. We are not saying that there are no such incidents of attacks on minorities, but those are stray incidents that happened more or less during all regimes in the past. Actions are taken always if such incident happens,’ he said.

Responding to a question, Touhid Hossain said that they did not say anything specific about India but the role of some media outlets in India came up following the arrest of the Hindu community leader as there were elements of provocations for sectarian violence.

He said that the government would not allow any sectarian violence since it did not discriminate any citizen on their religious beliefs.

About the coming Foreign Office Consultations scheduled to be held in Dhaka this month, he said that he thought it would be held as per schedule.