Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke out on the political unrest in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is currently being run by Muhammad Yunus, an 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist, after student protesters started a political uprising in July. Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India on August 5 after weeks of violent protests that left over 300 people dead including students and police officers.
“We hope the situation gets normal there soon,” Modi said in a live speech broadcast from New Delhi’s 17th-century Mughal-era Red Fort on its 78th Independence Day.
Modi said India would continue to support Bangladesh in developing its economy. Meanwhile, India is also focused on strengthening its own economy with Modi saying it aspires to be a developed nation by 2047—100 years after it gained its independence from British colonialists.
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According to the budget that Modi’s government presented to Parliament last month, the Indian economy grew at an 8.2 percent rate in the last fiscal year. Meanwhile, the inflation rate in India is stable and moving toward the government’s 4 percent target.
Looking forward, India hopes to increase jobs and modernize their agriculture. The government’s 2024-2025 budget proposed a $24 billion package for job creation over the next five years and allocated $18 billion for agriculture and farm technology.
The Indian prime minister also said that India believes in peace and not war.
Meanwhile, Yunus said he only took the interim leadership role because student protestors asked him to. There is also two student protest leaders sitting on the temporary cabinet.
The interim prime minister has called for a peaceful transition into a new Bangladesh government.
“It is critical that trust in government be restored quickly,” Yunus said in a statement, according to the Financial Times. “We need calm, we need a road map to new elections, and we need to get to work to prepare for new leadership in order to fulfill the extraordinary potential of Bangladesh.”
The ouster of Hasina, who served as prime minister for 15 years, began with protests against a quota system for government jobs that critics said benefitted people with connections to Hasina’s party.
On August 8, Modi posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) to give his “best wishes” to Yunus.
My best wishes to Professor Muhammad Yunus on the assumption of his new responsibilities. We hope for an early return to normalcy, ensuring the safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities. India remains committed to working with Bangladesh to fulfill the…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 8, 2024
“We hope for an early return to normalcy, ensuring the safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities,” Modi said, alluding to reports that Hindus in Bangladesh, which is predominantly Muslim, were targeted during the violent protests.
He added: “India remains committed to working with Bangladesh to fulfill the shared aspirations of both our peoples for peace, security and development.”
