‘Dhaka-Delhi ties could shift with BD’s govt change’
Staff Reporter :
India’s Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi has commented that if the government changes, Bangladesh’s relations with India may also change.
He made this remark on Saturday during a session at the India Today Conclave in New Delhi while discussing the relationship between China and Pakistan. This news was reported by online media NDTV.
According to the report, referring indirectly to China and Pakistan, Dwivedi said that they have a high level of communication, which must be acknowledged. This means that the threat from two fronts is now a reality.
During the session, the Indian Army Chief responded to questions about the army’s preparedness, lessons from ongoing conflicts, the situation in Bangladesh, and relations concerning the Line of Actual Control and the Line of Control.
Addressing a questioner, Dwivedi said, “Secondly, the issue you wanted to know about is cooperation or the relationship between our western neighbor and Bangladesh.”
When asked about reports indicating increasing closeness between Pakistan and Bangladesh, Dwivedi said, “In my opinion, since the epicenter of terrorism is in a specific country, and if they have any relationship with any of our neighboring countries, we should be concerned. I am concerned about this. The path of terrorism could also be used through that country, which is our main concern.”
On the issue of Bangladesh, the Indian Army Chief said, “Making a decision about Bangladesh’s role at this moment would be a very hasty decision. If there is a change in government there, Bangladesh’s relationship with India may change.”
“Because as far as I am concerned, I am very clear, the present military to military relationship is very strong. And, we exchange notes on a regular basis, to avoid any kind of misgiving,” he added. This isn’t the first time the Indian Army Chief has made such a statement.
In January, during the annual Army Day press conference in Delhi, he was asked about India-Bangladesh relations.
At that time, he reiterated similar remarks, stating that overall ties between the two countries would remain stable once an elected government assumes power in Bangladesh.
General Upendra Dwivedi emphasized that Bangladesh is a key strategic partner for India and that hostility between the two nations would be harmful to both, serving no one’s interests.
He further stated, “We are neighbors. Our countries must coexist and understand each other. Any form of animosity would be detrimental to both sides.”
Additionally, he affirmed that military relations between India and Bangladesh remain strong.
Meanwhile, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that India has always batted strongly to maintain a healthy relationship with its neighbours and Bangladesh remains no exception.
“India always wants to maintain good relations with its neighbours and Bangladesh is also our neighbouring country. We always try to maintain good relations with our neighbours because (former Prime Minister) Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to say that we can change friends but not our neighbours. So, we would like to maintain good relations with Bangladesh,” Singh told IANS in an exclusive interview.