Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said Bangladesh’s relations with India will be based on mutual dignity, respect and sovereign equality. He said he hoped India would stop playing the “Hasina card”.
The home minister made the remarks while speaking as chief guest at a discussion at Dhaka University’s Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban Auditorium on Saturday afternoon.
The event, titled “Role of University Teachers in the Fall of the Fascist Government”, was organised to mark the second anniversary of the July Mass Uprising 2024.
Delivering a clear message on bilateral relations with India, the home minister said, “On the one hand, convicted and fugitive accused Sheikh Hasina is allowed to sit on Indian soil and make anti-Bangladesh statements or carry out political activities, while on the other, India seeks friendly relations with Bangladesh — these two positions are completely contradictory. I hope the Indian government will understand this and stop playing the ‘Hasina card’.”
Outlining the future roadmap for democratic reform of the state structure and constitutional amendments, Salahuddin Ahmed said provisions would be incorporated into the constitution limiting a prime minister to a maximum of two terms so that no elected government could become authoritarian in the future. Checks and balances between the upper and lower houses of parliament would also be ensured.
He said the constitutions of all democratic countries around the world had been amended over time in response to the needs and demands of society. Similarly, initiatives had been taken to amend Bangladesh’s constitution through democratic means to fulfil the aspirations and expectations of the people following the mass uprising.
Addressing students and young people, the minister said they must not make provocative statements that demonstrate political immaturity. Referring to attempts to entrap students at BUET and other educational institutions, he urged everyone to exercise patience and tolerance and to protest through democratic means.
He also called for maintaining the spirit of the July 2024 mass uprising and the ironclad national unity needed to build a Bangladesh free from fascism.
The discussion was jointly organised by the Dhaka University White Panel and the University Teachers’ Association of Bangladesh (UTAB).
Professor Md Morshed Hasan Khan, convener of the DU White Panel and secretary general of UTAB, chaired the event. Prime Minister’s Political Adviser Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor ABM Obaidul Islam attended as special guests.
