PM Modi Leads Important Meeting on Unrest in Bangladesh

The situation in Bangladesh was briefed to PM Modi by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar separately. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, also had discussions with Mr. Jaishankar. Ms. Hasina, who first assumed power in 2009, tried to suppress nationwide protests against her government since early July.

After intense unrest on a Sunday, resulting in the deaths of nearly 100 people, she fled the country. Sheikh Hasina’s plane, a Bangladesh Air Force C-130 military transport, landed at an airbase near Delhi on Monday evening. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met with the former prime minister.

Disappointed by the strong public sentiment against her government despite her efforts to transform the country, she has reportedly decided to resign, as per a statement made to BBC. The demonstrations started over the reintroduction of a quota scheme that reserved over half of all government jobs for certain groups. The protests intensified despite the scheme being scaled back by Bangladesh’s top court.

On Sunday, the deadliest day of the unrest, at least 94 people were killed, with clashes between protesters and government supporters, as well as security forces opening fire. The recent violence brought the total number of people killed since the start of the protests in early July to at least 356, according to a count by news agency AFP based on police, government officials, and hospital doctors. Bangladesh has a history of coups.

The military declared an emergency in January 2007 after widespread political unrest and installed a military-backed caretaker government for two years.