New Delhi
21 June 2006
Bangladesh Leader of Opposition and Awami League President
Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday evening paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh but New Delhi in its wisdom shied away from rolling out the red carpet
for her on what is dubbed as private visit.
Sources said New Delhi has refused to accord "official" status to her visit in her capacity
as Leader of Opposition in Bangladesh Parliament. Appreciating the need for walking a
tightrope, New Delhi quietly rescheduled a seminar on the subject of future of democracy
in Bangladesh, which Hasina was likely to address.
Sheikh Hasina arrived in New Delhi on a five-day visit that will take her to Ajmer and
Kolkata. She paid a similar visit in October last year. The Awami League president's visit
comes after the official visit to India by Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia
earlier this year.
Sources said New Delhi wants to maintain bilateral relations on an "even keel" ahead of
Bangladesh parliamentary elections early next year. It does not want to send out "wrong
signals" to the BNP-led Government of Begum Khaleda Zia especially after an upturn in
bilateral relations after her recent visit.
The sources said that the policy of "distinct engagement" being followed by Bangladesh
Premier Begum Khaleda has helped to remove certain "misunderstanding" that had crept
into the bilateral ties and to restore, of late, a certain degree of maturity in the
interactions between the two sides.
On media reports about an award ceremony for Sheikh Hasina in Kolkata, the
spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs says, "If you are asking me whether we
were consulted, then the answer is no. We have come to learn of it, but we have come to
learn of it from her and we were not consulted."
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