Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina informed the visiting Indian High Commissioner that the quota reform protests a few days ago were an "attempt by anarchists to create the same situation in Bangladesh as in Sri Lanka." According to her, groups involved in the agitation were out to destabilize her government.
The recent unrest in Bangladesh saw violent clashes between police and largely student demonstrators who were demanding an end to a quota system. It reserved 30 percent of government posts for relatives of veterans from Bangladesh's 1971 War of Independence.
Actually, they (the anarchists) planned to create Sri Lanka-type violence and oust the government," Hasina said during a meeting with Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma at her residence, Ganabhaban.
Sri Lanka is experiencing extreme economic instability since 2022, marred by high inflation and a lack of basic commodities that saw weeks of street protests compel President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to quit the office.
Earlier in the day, Hasina said her government had sought the United Nations' and other international organisations' help in properly investigating the recent violence related to anti-quota protests and bringing the perpetrators to book. "We're seeking UN and other international organisations' cooperation for a fair and proper investigation into the matter," she said, adding that justice needed to be brought to bear on those involved in the disturbances.
The reporters were briefed after Hasina's meeting with Verma by the Press Secretary to the Prime Minister, Md Nayeemul Islam Khan. Hasina was starting a record fourth term in January. She characterized the quota reform protests as escalating beyond a typical movement, describing them as approaching "a terrorist-like attack."
The week-long July unrest left at least 150 dead, thousands hurt, and government properties badly damaged. The agitation ended after a July 21 Supreme Court interim verdict that slashed the reserved quota from 56 percent to seven percent. The government later brought out a Gazette notification announcing 93 percent jobs would be open to all on merit.
India has termed the violent protests as an "internal" affair of Bangladesh. On relations among the region's countries, Hasina said she was agreeable to increasing connectivity between Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
He expressed condolences over the loss of life and property in the recent unrest and welcomed the gradual normalization of the situation and the economic revival in Bangladesh. Verma said India would continue to support Bangladesh's development objectives and took positive note of the productive outcome of PM Hasina's visit to India recently. It had, he said, built up on the gains of the past and opened the road ahead for future cooperation.
He said that future cooperation will be in the areas of digitalization, green technology, satellite development, the blue economy, oceanography, and fintech, in a vision shared for progress.
The others who were present at the meeting included the Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, the Ambassador-at-Large Mohammad Ziauddin, and Principal Secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah.
Read also | Quad Ministers Anticipate India’s Role as Host for Upcoming Summit
Read also | Kamala Harris to Kick Off Philadelphia Rally with Future Vice Presidential Pick
