Bangladesh Summons Indian Acting High Commissioner to Protest Remarks by Assam CM

DHAKA: Bangladesh on Thursday summoned acting Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pawan Badhe and protested the remarks made by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and stressed avoiding comments that might hurt bilateral ties. Director General (South Asia) Ishrat Jahan conveyed Dhaka’s position to the acting Indian high commissioner during a meeting at the ministry of foreign affairs (MoFA). Bangladesh described the remarks as disparaging to Bangladesh-India relations and expressed its displeasure to India, said a diplomatic source. The MoFA, however, did not issue any official statement. Sarma on April 26 said 20 foreign nationals were apprehended in Assam and pushed back to Bangladesh. "Rude people don't understand soft language. We continuously remind ourselves of this prophetic line when we expel infiltrators from Assam who don't leave themselves. For instance, these 20 illegal Bangladeshis who were PUSHED BACK last night," Sarma said in a post on X, according to Indian media reports. Bangladesh stressed that public statements capable of straining ties between the two neighbours are counterproductive, and highlighted the importance of exercising restraint when addressing sensitive bilateral issues.