World · Bangladesh Bureau
Blocking Hasina's entry would have triggered different outcome: Trivedi
West Bengal Chief Minister Dinesh Trivedi has suggested that preventing former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from landing in India could have led to an altered political situation, though he stopped short of elaborating on specifics.
LSN Bangladesh ·

Dinesh Trivedi, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, has indicated that denying entry to Sheikh Hasina upon her arrival in India in August would have resulted in a fundamentally different set of circumstances, according to remarks attributed to him in recent discussions.
Trivedi's statement comes in the context of Hasina's flight from Bangladesh following the civil unrest that led to the resignation of her government and her subsequent relocation to India. The senior Indian politician suggested that the decision to allow her passage carried significant implications for the political trajectory that followed.
Hasina arrived in India on August 5 after stepping down as Prime Minister, following mass protests that erupted across Bangladesh in late July. Her departure marked a turning point in Bangladesh's political landscape, leading to an interim government taking charge of the country.
While Trivedi's exact meaning remains subject to interpretation, his comments suggest that India's decision to permit Hasina's entry was carefully weighed against potential regional consequences. Officials in Delhi have previously maintained that the decision was made on humanitarian grounds, given the volatile security situation in Dhaka at the time.
The remarks underscore the delicate diplomatic calculations involved in India's handling of the Bangladesh political crisis, with neighboring New Delhi serving as a refuge for the ousted premier during a period of significant upheaval in the neighboring nation.