'When a friend is in trouble... ,' says Tharoor on Sheikh Hasina, calls Muhammad Yunus 'somewhat close to Washington'

Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday backed the Narendra Modi-led central government for helping ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in times of crisis. Tharoor said in a recent interview that had the Modi government not helped Hasina, it wouldn't have augured well for India. 

He also explained that when a friend is in trouble, one doesn't look twice before extending the hand of help, which is what India has done for Hasina. Last week, Sheikh Hasina landed in Delhi after she quit as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh following violent protests that snowballed into a movement demanding her ouster. 

"Sheikh Hasina is a friend of India and India is a friend of her. That's exactly what India has done. I applaud the government for doing it. I would have wanted nothing less. As an Indian, we have certain standards we stand for in the world. The government has done right thing to bring her here and ensure her safety," Tharoor said in an interaction with NDTV. 

While replying to a question on how long will Sheikh Hasina stay in India, Tharoor said that this is not for India to decide. He added that India should wait and see how long she feels she can stay in India before she moves on.

He also said that practical issues such as visa considerations before moving to some other country. Moving on from Sheikh Hasina, Tharoor also shared his take on Muhammad Yunus, the head of the interim government in Bangladesh. 

Days after Hasina's ouster from Dhaka, an interim government was formed in Bangladesh under the leadership of Muhammad Yunus. 

Tharoor said that Yunus is "somewhat close to Washington" rather than being seen as close to Jamaat-e-Islami or Pakistani ISI. The senior Congress leader said that New Delhi shouldn't be worried about the Yunus-led interim government in Dhaka.

He added that India should not be anxious about hostile countries supporting the interim government. While allaying doubts about Muhammad Yunus, Shashi Tharoor did not rule out the role of Pakistani ISI and China in fomenting the unrest in Bangladesh. He said that Pakistan and China might have eyed the crisis as an opportunity to expand their influence in the region.