US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Image: Reuters File)
As the Bangladesh crisis did not find a mention in the readout released by the United States, Congress questioned the Indian government’s readout
Amid the ongoing buzz over no mention of the ongoing Bangladesh crisis in the readout released by the United States, the Congress party on Tuesday decided to escalate the issue. On finding differences in the Indian and US readouts regarding the discussion on the Bangladesh crisis, Congress leader Pawan Khera questioned, “Why does the press release from the White House not mention Bangladesh while our press note does?”
Intensifying his attack on PM Modi, the Congress leader in another tweet wrote, “If our Prime Minister did raise the issue of ‘safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus’ in Bangladesh, why did Joe Biden not think it was important enough to mention in his press note?”
If our Prime Minister did raise the issue of ‘safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus’ in Bangladesh, why did @JoeBiden not think it was important enough to mention in his press note? https://t.co/xiIZRkLySx— Pawan Khera (@Pawankhera) August 27, 2024
The Congress’ jibe came after the press release by the Ministry of External Affairs mentioned that PM Modi and Biden expressed their shared concern over the “situation in Bangladesh”, while the White House readout remained silent on the issue and had no mention of the crisis-hit country. In fact, the US focused only on the Ukraine-Russia war.
Khera’s questions regarding the absence of the Bangladesh crisis in the US readout drew a response from Senior Advisor of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Kanchan Gupta, who termed Khera’s comments as “misplaced”.
Earlier, PM Modi while congratulating the Chief Adviser of the new interim government of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, reiterated his call for safety and security of the “Hindus and all other minority communities” in Bangladesh.
‘Misplaced’: Govt’s Advisor Reacts
Mentioning Khera’s comments, government advisor Kanchan Gupta took to X and wrote, “Congress media head Pawan Khera‘s comments regarding Government of India’s press release on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tele-conversation with President Biden on Monday are completely misplaced. It’s reiterated that all issues mentioned in the GoI press release, including the situation in Bangladesh, were discussed. The GoI statement is an accurate reflection of the conversation.”
Clarifying why there was a different in the readouts of both countries, Gupta replied, “It is a common practice for separate press releases to be issued following conversations, which may or may not reflect all issues discussed. It is only when there is a Joint Press Release or Joint Statement that both sides issue similar press releases.”
Congress media head @Pawankhera ‘s comments regarding Government of India’s press release on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tele-conversation with President Biden on Monday are completely misplaced.It’s reiterated that all issues mentioned in the GoI press release, including… https://t.co/DW7xU9o8aY
— Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) August 27, 2024
Experts Weigh In
As the US skipping a mention of Bangladesh escalated the political debate in the country, strategic thinker Brahma Chellaney highlighted the possible reason behind the US move. “The US sought to prevent the birth of Bangladesh. But even today, it is not on the same page with India regarding Bangladesh. It has welcomed the recent regime change there and been silent on ongoing human-rights abuses, including attacks on minorities, arbitrary arrests, forced resignations and physical assaults on political detainees,” he said.
“When Biden called Modi last evening, they discussed Bangladesh and shared concerns about the situation there, as the Indian readout pointed out. But the White House readout, tellingly, does not disclose the Bangladesh-related discussion. Shared interests in the Indo-Pacific or US support for Indian engagement with Ukraine cannot obscure the fact that, in India’s own neighborhood extending from Myanmar to the Pakistan-Afghanistan belt, American interests do not align with core Indian interests,” Chellaney added.
The US sought to prevent the birth of Bangladesh. But even today, it is not on the same page with India regarding Bangladesh. It has welcomed the recent regime change there and been silent on ongoing human-rights abuses, including attacks on minorities, arbitrary arrests, forced… pic.twitter.com/YAF2hYrmNx— Brahma Chellaney (@Chellaney) August 27, 2024
In addition to this, another expert Michael Kugelman stated that the reason behind the US not mentioning the Bangladesh crisis can be that the country wanted to discuss Modi’s Ukraine visit, which happened just a few days ago. “The US likely didn’t feel a need to highlight the Bangladesh part of the discussion in the way that India wanted to,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week visited Ukraine and marked a rare war-time visit. The Prime Minister’s Ukraine visit came nearly six weeks after he visited Russia to discuss the conflict-ridden situation amid Russia Ukraine. This was also the first visit by an Indian PM to Ukraine.
