External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said at an all-party meeting in Parliament that the situation in Bangladesh was not alarming to warrant the evacuation 12,000-13,000 Indians in the strife-ridden nation. Jaishankar further mentioned that around 8,000 Indians, mostly students, returned to India soon after the protests over a controversial jobs quota system broke out in the neighbouring country.
He also said that the government is keeping an eye on the situation in Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina's resignation. He further said that the NDA government had a brief discussion with Sheikh Hasina. "The government wants to give Hasina some time to decide her future plan," sources quoted Jaishankar as saying.
During this meeting, Rahul Gandhi questioned Jaishankar on media reports suggesting the involvement of Pakistan's ISI in the Bangladesh crisis. Replying to this, Jaishankar said, "It is too early to come to such a conclusion." The meeting was attended by the likes of Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda, Kiren Rijiju, Ram Mohan Naidu, and Lallan Singh from the ruling side.
Opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, DMK's TR Baalu, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, Trinamool Congress' Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Misa Bharti, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Arvind Sawant, NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule and Biju Janata Dal's Sasmit Patra were also present in the meeting.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), however, claimed that it was not invited to the meeting. Meanwhile, Congress leader Manish Tewari said that the situation in Bangladesh is worrying. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Tewari said: "The situation is sensitive and serious in Bangladesh. It is worrying for South Asia and East Asia. I hope there will be a discussion on this in both the Houses and that the government will facilitate it. It is important to discuss Bangladesh."
On Monday, Jaishankar also briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on the Bangladesh crisis in separate meetings.
Hasina's resignation came in the wake of students' protests against the controversial job quota system, under which 30 per cent government jobs were reserved for the relatives of the veterans who fought in Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971. At least 300 people have lost their lives so far in these protests.