Hasina in shock, govt giving her time before speaking to her: Jaishankar at all-party meeting
New Delhi (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday told an all-party meeting that India has assured help to former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who arrived here on Monday evening, and given her time to decide the future course of action, sources said.
Briefing political party leaders in Parliament House, Jaishankar said India has spoken to the Bangladesh Army Chief to ensure the safety of over 10,000 Indian students in that country, the sources said.
Replying to questions from various leaders, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the minister did not rule out the role of foreign governments in the unrest in the country but emphasised that the situation was too fluid, and the government has been keeping a watch on the evolving situation, they said.
At the meeting, Gandhi asked if foreign governments might be involved in fuelling the crisis there.
Jaishankar said that households and properties belonging to minorities were targeted by protestors in the neighbouring country.
Noting that it has been not even 24 hours since Hasina arrived in India, he said she is in a state of shock and the government is giving her time to recover before it speaks to her over various issues, including her future plans, the sources said.
The External Affairs Minister is scheduled to make a statement on the issue in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
Various leaders, including Gandhi, conveyed their full cooperation to the government on the issue.
YSR Congress leader V Vijaysai Reddy said his party supports the government in the interest of the country.
"Briefed an All-Party meeting in Parliament today about the ongoing developments in Bangladesh. Appreciate the unanimous support and understanding that was extended," Jaishankar posted on X after the meeting.
Congress leader Karti Chidambaram said the government had briefed an all-party meeting on the situation in Bangladesh.
"Congress party is fully with the government as far as national security and national interest are concerned," Chidambaram told PTI. However, he was not present at the meeting.
Bangladesh plunged into uncertainty after extraordinary street protests over job quota forced Hasina to quit and flee.
The all-party meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister J P Nadda, JD(U) leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’, JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, DMK leader T R Baalu, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav, Trinamool leader Sudip Bandypapdhyay, NCP leader Supriya Sule among others.
Ahead of the meeting, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut had said that the rulers in India should learn lessons from the developments in Bangladesh.
“When democracy faces danger and those in power become dictators wearing a mask of democracy, the people of the country tolerate them for a while and then there is anarchy,” Raut said.
CPI(M) member P Santosh Kumar said the situation in Bangladesh was very volatile.
“We are with the people of Bangladesh, not with Jamaat-e-Islami, military or with Sheikh Hasina. We are with students of Bangladesh. This is the fate of all autocrats," Kumar said.
Samajwadi Party member Virendra Singh said the situation in Bangladesh was a message for all countries which do not listen to people's voices.
“Similar situations happen in countries where attempts to end democracy and bring dictatorship take place. It is very unfortunate," Singh said.
BJP Rajya Sabha member Lahar Singh Siroya said the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are keeping an eye on the whole issue.
"They would have been taking necessary steps. Our country is capable of handling the issue," the BJP Rajya Sabha member said.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
