Archive · 8 Aug 2026
MEA denies role in Hasina media event, doesn't endorse remarks
Sheikh Hasina used to be the leader of Bangladesh, a country next to India.
She had to leave Bangladesh, and now she is staying in India.
Recently, she talked to reporters from India using an audio connection.
In her talk, she said she wants to go back to Bangladesh in December.
She said she wants to stand with the people of Bangladesh and help them.
She also said her political party, the Awami League, should be allowed again, and that people held for politics should be set free.
The new leaders of Bangladesh were not happy that she spoke.
They think Hasina did bad things, and they said India should not have let her speak.
India said it did not organize the talk and does not agree with everything Hasina said.
India also said it supports Bangladesh's current government.
India's Ministry of External Affairs said it had no role in ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina's August 5 media event and does not endorse anything said there about Bangladesh's 'duly constituted government.'
Hasina, speaking via audio link from New Delhi, said she plans to return to Bangladesh in December — 'our victory month' of the 1971 liberation war — despite the risk of detention or a death sentence.
Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said it was 'outraged' that Hasina was allowed to speak, called her an 'absconding convicted genocider,' and said concerns about the event were conveyed to India beforehand.
India, which earlier questioned the inclusivity of Bangladesh's February elections, welcomed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's victory and congratulated Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, with PM Narendra Modi speaking to him.
Hasina, who faces a death sentence and 10-year prison terms in Bangladesh, demanded the Awami League ban be lifted and political prisoners released; her son Sajeeb Wazed claimed Bangladesh could become 'another Pakistan.'
- Who
- Sheikh Hasina, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh now based in India; Randhir Jaiswal, MEA official spokesperson; Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Sajeeb Wazed, Hasina's son
- What
- India denied any role in Hasina's August 5 media event and withheld endorsement of her remarks about Bangladesh's 'duly constituted government,' while Hasina announced plans to return to Bangladesh in December and Dhaka voiced outrage; India said it constantly monitors regional activities from a national security perspective.
- When
- Hasina's press conference and Bangladesh's angry reaction came on August 5; India's clarification followed on Friday, August 7.
- Where
- Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia, New Delhi, India (Hasina spoke via audio link).
- Why
- Hasina says she wants to return to stand beside Bangladesh's people and revive the country's path of development, progress, secularism and stability; India moved to clarify its non-involvement amid a diplomatic row.
Hasina and her supporters
Bangladesh government
Hasina's planned return to Bangladesh
Hasina and her supporters
Hasina says she will return to Bangladesh in December — 'our victory month' of the 1971 liberation war — to stand beside the people and improve their lives, insisting her return is not about power but about reviving the country's path of development, progress, secularism and stability; she said she is worried not about her own future but about the future of Bangladesh, and described India as a 'great friend' that always stood by Bangladesh in times of difficulty.
Bangladesh government
Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry calls Hasina an 'absconding convicted genocider' and says it is outraged that she was allowed to launch 'venomous vitriol' against the State of Bangladesh and her people; it says Bangladesh will never go back to 'the dark days of fascism' and will never be a client state.
India's role in the media event
Hasina and her supporters
India's MEA says the government had no role in the event, which was organized by a private media entity, and does not endorse anything said at the forum, especially with regard to Bangladesh's 'duly constituted government.'
Bangladesh government
Bangladesh says it conveyed concerns 'a priori' to the Government of India about the likely ramifications of the event on the reset of bilateral relations, yet the public event was still permitted, which Dhaka says it deeply regrets and considers detrimental to relations.
Allegations of Pakistani influence in Bangladesh
Hasina and her supporters
Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed, attending the event virtually, said Bangladesh could become 'another Pakistan,' claimed persons linked to terror organisations had been released from prisons, and alleged that Dhaka had given Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence a free hand in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh government
Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry says that upholding the spirit of the July Revolution, its people have firmly resolved that Bangladesh will never be a client state, and it wants a 'constructive, mutually beneficial and forward-looking' relationship with India based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, non-interference in internal affairs, and national dignity.
- Event
- Hasina's audio press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia, New Delhi; her first live media appearance since August 2024
- Date
- August 5; India's clarification issued Friday, August 7
- MEA spokesperson
- Randhir Jaiswal
- Hasina's announced return
- December, called 'our victory month' of the 1971 liberation war
- Hasina's legal status
- Death sentence from Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal; 10 years' imprisonment in two corruption cases
- Awami League
- Banned in Bangladesh; Hasina demanded the ban be lifted
- Bangladesh's Prime Minister
- Tarique Rahman (Bangladesh Nationalist Party)
- Bangladesh's reaction
- 'Outraged'; called Hasina an 'absconding convicted genocider'; says the event hurt bilateral ties
