New Delhi: On Monday, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) convened at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg, where PM Modi was briefed on the unfolding situation in Bangladesh. The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with senior officials.
Following her resignation amid widespread protests, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in India on Monday evening. She met with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad to discuss the situation in Bangladesh and her next steps. Sources indicate that Hasina has been relocated to a secure location and is unlikely to leave India that night.
In response to the developments, the Indian Air Force has placed its personnel on heightened alert in the eastern sectors. Although Hasina initially planned to travel to London, this plan faced uncertainty after British Foreign Secretary David Lammy called for a comprehensive UN-led investigation into recent events in Bangladesh.
Earlier in the day, Jaishankar updated PM Modi on the political crisis and also briefed the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. The protests in Bangladesh, which began over a controversial job quota system, have evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations.
Sources suggest that Hasina might now consider traveling to Belarus, where her nephew resides, due to complications with her London plans. India has yet to officially comment on the situation in Bangladesh, but it is anticipated that Jaishankar will address the matter in Parliament on Tuesday.
Sheikh Hasina, who led Bangladesh for 15 years, resigned in the face of massive protests that grew from opposition to a job quota scheme into demands for her removal from office. The quota system, which reserved 30 percent of civil service jobs for the families of veterans from the 1971 liberation war, was a central issue in the unrest.
Hasina’s Awami League had secured victory in the January parliamentary elections, which were boycotted by opposition parties. On Monday, Hasina, accompanied by her sister Sheikh Rehana, departed her official residence, Ganabhavan, via military helicopter to an airbase, and then flew to Hindon in a Bangladesh Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft.
India granted safe passage for Hasina’s aircraft through its airspace following a request from Dhaka. Indian government sources have indicated that New Delhi is closely monitoring the rapid developments in Bangladesh.
