Bangladesh ramps up rhetoric, Indian agencies push back

Bangladesh on Sunday sharpened its rhetoric against India, with Dhaka accusing New Delhi of spreading a "misleading narrative" on the condition of minorities in the country and the Bangladeshi police claiming that suspects in the murder of radical student leader Sharif Osman Hadi had fled to Meghalaya, an allegation rejected by security agencies in the northeastern state.

- Rezaul H Laskar and David Laitphlang

The neighbouring country's foreign ministry, in a statement, contended there was a "selective and unfair bias" in certain quarters in India whereby "isolated incidents are amplified, misrepresented and propagated to incite common Indians against Bangladesh, its diplomatic missions and other establishments in India". The spreading of "misleading narratives" has the potential to undermine "good neighbourly relations and mutual trust", it said.

The statement came days after ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal flagged "unremitting hostility against minorities in Bangladesh" in the wake of the December 18 lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, who was beaten to death by a mob after being accused of blasphemy.

Bangladesh's foreign ministry said Jaiswal's comments "do not reflect the facts" and rejected "inaccurate, exaggerated, or motivated narratives that misrepresent Bangladesh's longstanding tradition of communal harmony". Dhaka contended there were "systematic attempts to portray the isolated incidents of criminal acts as systemic persecution of the Hindus", and these are being "used to propagate anti-Bangladesh sentiments" in India.