IBNS-CMEDIA: BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has questioned whether the shutdown of a unit at Adani Power’s Godda plant in Jharkhand was connected to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s decision not to attend the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
Rizvi claimed that Rahman had not been invited to the summit in his capacity as Bangladesh’s prime minister, but in another role.
“Tarique Rahman is the prime minister of an independent and sovereign country. So, will you not invite him as prime minister? Will he sit on the sidelines? That cannot happen. He did not go. By not going, the prime minister of Bangladesh upheld the country’s dignity, independence and sovereignty,” Rizvi was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.
Rizvi also questioned the timing of the shutdown of an Adani Power unit, which supplies electricity to Bangladesh, saying it went offline shortly after Rahman decided not to attend the BRICS Summit.
“He [Tarique] decided not to go, and the next day it was shut down. What was the reason behind that? Do you need to pass the bar exam to understand it? Do you need a PhD from a university? We understand what happened,” he said.
However, reports said the Godda plant unit was shut down following a technical problem involving its boiler. Rizvi’s remarks represented his allegation about the timing and did not establish a connection between the BRICS decision and the plant shutdown.
Rizvi also questioned why India had not handed over former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been staying in India since leaving Bangladesh amid protests against her government on August 5, 2024.
“They are being tried under the law in Bangladesh’s courts. Why are they not being handed over? This is a big question among the people. Instead, what do you want to do with her? What is your purpose? Surely there is some deep purpose,” he said.
The comments came amid a dispute over the nature of Rahman’s invitation to the BRICS Summit.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has said Rahman received two separate invitations from India — one for a bilateral visit and another to attend the BRICS Summit as chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that both invitations had been extended to the Bangladeshi prime minister.
“We had invited Prime Minister of Bangladesh on a bilateral visit, as also subsequently he was invited for the BRICS Summit as chair of BIMSTEC,” Jaiswal said.
“He had received two invitations: one on the bilateral side, and the other for the BRICS Summit as well,” he added.
Rahman did not attend the two-day BRICS Summit, which was held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13.
The Indian government’s clarification followed comments by Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir, who had said Rahman was not invited to the summit in his capacity as Bangladesh’s prime minister and that the invitation was extended to the BIMSTEC chair.
“How shall we go? Has anyone from the Bangladesh government been invited? Our prime minister was not invited. Who told you that our Prime Minister was invited? The BIMSTEC Chair was invited. Then why are you asking this question?” Kabir was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.
The contrasting statements from Dhaka and New Delhi have centred on whether Rahman’s BRICS invitation was extended to him as Bangladesh’s prime minister or specifically in his capacity as BIMSTEC chair. India has maintained that the BRICS invitation and the separate bilateral invitation were distinct.
