'Trying to deflect attention': India refutes Mohammad Yunus’s ‘India destabilising Bangladesh’ claim, says blame-shifting won’t solve problems

NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs on Thursday refuted Bangladesh's chief adviser Mohammad Yunus's claims that New Delhi is “destabilising” his country.In a weekly presser, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Bangladesh's accusations were an attempt to deflect attention from real issues."As far as the government there is concerned, the responsibility for law and order and governance issues lies entirely with that government," Jaiswal said."In such a situation, if someone says that external factors or someone else is to blame for the disturbances, it appears that they are trying to deflect attention from the real issue and shift the blame onto others. Such statements do not solve the problem; they seem like an attempt to avoid accountability," he added.This comes days after Yunus hinted that India may be behind efforts to “destabilise” Bangladesh.His press secretary quoted him as saying that there were “relentless efforts to destabilise Bangladesh,”both “internally and externally,” thereby leading to a “war-like situation.”Yunus reportedly told Mahmudur Rahman Manna leader of the Bangladeshi political party Nagorik Oikya, that Bangladesh was now in a major crisis due to Indian hegemony.“The Chief Adviser stated that the country is in a major crisis due to Indian hegemony… He started the discussion by saying that we are in a deep crisis. By crisis, he meant a conspiracy by India. He said India does not want to accept this change in our country at all. If they could, they would destroy us in a single day, and they are doing everything necessary to that end. That’s what he said… He believes the entire nation needs to remain united in response,”Manna said.Meanwhile, Jaiswal also said, "Bangladesh needs to ascertain the will and mandate of the people by holding an inclusive, free, and fair election at an early date."Earlier, Yunus’s press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, quoted Yunus saying, "With the banning of the Awami League, a new war-like situation has emerged — both inside and outside the country. The goal is to prevent our progress, to push the nation toward total collapse, and to drag us back into subjugation. Since the Awami League’s activities were banned, there have been relentless efforts to destabilise the situation. We must protect ourselves from this.”Yunus has claimed he plans to hold the elections between December 2025 and June 30, 2026.“Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus will not stay in power even a day after 30 June 2026,” said Mr Shafiqul Alam.He said Yunus urged everyone at the meeting to be confident that he would not do anything that would put the country in danger.“I felt confident as we all sat together. If I fail to hold a fair election, I will feel guilty,” Yunus was quoted as saying.Alam claimed that various party leaders heard Mr Yunus and reaffirmed their support for the interim government. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), currently the most powerful traditional political force in the country, however, wants the polls to be held by December this year and is uneasy over the continuation of the interim government, which has so far shown no urgency to conduct elections.Political tensions in Bangladesh are rising following Chief Adviser Mohammed Yunus’s veiled criticism of the BNP during his visit to Japan. Yunus remarked that only one political party, not all—is insisting on holding national elections by December. His comment appears to target the BNP, which has been at odds with him over its push for elections within that timeframe.