External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday briefed an all-party meeting that was chaired over the ongoing situation in Bangladesh and appreciated the unanimous support by all parties. Congress MPs and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were also part of the meeting.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also told the all-party meeting that India has assured help to former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and given her time to decide the future course of action, sources said. Track Bangladesh News LIVE Updates
“Congress party is fully with the government as far as national security and national interest are concerned," Chidamabaram told PTI. However, he was not present at the meeting.
The all-party meet comes a day after Sheikh Hasina flew to India after resigning as Bangladesh PM on Monday amid unrest in her country. The Bangladesh Air Force aircraft carrying her landed at Hindon Air Base of Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, near Delhi, post which she was taken to a "safe place".
The Bangladesh Air Force aircraft reportedly took off again on Tuesday from Hindon Air Base for its "next destination", however, it was not carrying Sheikh Hasina, sources cited in a news agency ANI report said.
Taking to microblogging platform X, Jaishankar shared photographs of the meeting at Parliament House.
"Briefed an All-Party meeting in Parliament today about the ongoing developments in Bangladesh.Appreciate the unanimous support and understanding that was extended," Jaishankar posted on the social media platform.
What Happened In Bangladesh
Chaos engulfed Bangladesh as sudden political developments amid deadly protests over job quota led to Sheikh Hasina's resignation from the PM post and the Army chief there announcing an interim government soon after.
Sheikh Hasina arrived in India in what diplomatic sources said was a layover in her travel to London. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on the issue on Monday.
As per a latest update Sheikh Hasina's travel plans have hit a roadblock due to certain "uncertainties" and she is unlikely to move out of India for the next couple of days, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Sources cited by news agency PTI said Hasina was on Tuesday contemplating other options after the British government indicated she may not get legal protection in the UK against any possible investigation, they said.
Uninvited AAP Irked
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) complained on Tuesday that it was not invited to the all-party meeting. "The issue of national security does not depend on who the prime minister is happy or angry with. Not inviting the Aam Aadmi Party, a national party with 13 MPs, to this important all-party meeting shows the petty mentality and lack of seriousness of the government," AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said in a post in Hindi on X.
Later, talking to PTI Videos, Singh said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed the Upper House about the situation in the neighbouring country.
"We have to support the government in such circumstances. This is an issue related to national security. We did not raise any queries and the entire opposition listened to his statement. But the sad thing is will politics overshadow the issue of national security?
"Today, when the all party meeting happened, a representative of AAP, which is a national party with 10 Rajya Sabha MPs and three Lok Sabha MPs, was not called. It cannot be an issue of PM's like or dislike in terms of national security. We have kept this issue in front of the BJP leaders and we would like to know why we were not invited to the crucial meeting on Bangladesh issue," he added.
