Ahead of Polls, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Optimistic About Sheikh Hasina's Victory, Commends India's Stance

By Ayushi Agarwal

New Delhi [India], January 6 : Ahead of the Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, the country's Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen has expressed his optimism about Sheikh Hasina clinching her fourth term in office, underlining that the country will maintain the same policy towards its neighbour, particularly India.

Amid acts of violence in the country, Momen also assured that the elections in Dhaka will be fair, transparent and non-violent.

"We are hopeful that our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be re-elected, form the government and maintain the same policy towards our neighbours, particularly India. We must say that the relationship between Bangladesh and India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reached a zenith and we are enjoying a golden chapter in our relationship that is likely to continue for years to come," said Foreign Minister Momen while speaking toin an interview over Zoom.

On New Delhi's stance in the Bangladesh elections, the Foreign Minister hailed New Delhi's position and said that he is thankful to India and this is how it should be. Notably, India has continued to describe the January 7 general election as a domestic affair of Bangladesh.

"We have been very consistently saying that the election in Bangladesh is the domestic affair of Bangladesh," said official spokesperson at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal in New Delhi on Thursday.

"I must thank India and I am grateful to India that it said that election is a routine matter. And Bangladesh election is a domestic issue and Bangladeshi people will decide the future. This is a great stand and I am thankful to India, that's the way it should be. Because we never bother about other countries election. Don't poke the nose", said Momen.

The comments of the minister come after the statements by some Western countries in regards to the elections in Bangladesh. The minister calls them as 'surprising' and said that this is due to 'Geo-political interests'.

"You know, there have been so many elections, in so many countries, but unfortunately or fortunately, the election of Bangladesh has become a top issue for both the US, European Union and other countries and this is very surprising. But this is not because of Bangladesh. This is because of other geopolitical interests. Now, we guarantee a free, fair, credible and transparent and non-violent elections," said the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh.

"Americans want free, fair non-violent elections. The same is the European Union. And since we are committed to the free fair and non-violent elections and therefore America and the European Union are with us. They are in fact supporting our objective of a free fair and non-violent election," he added.

Speaking on the current mood of the voters in Bangladesh, the Foreign Minister said that the people are very excited and the government has taken all the precautions to catch and punish anyone who disrupts the process.

Notably, on Friday, an intercity Benapole Express train in Gopibagh was attacked claiming the lives of four people. The Minister stressed that before or after the elections, there is always some disruption and the arsonist must be given punishment.

"The mood here is full of excitement. All classes of people are fully excited and ready to vote. The government and the Election Commission are fully ready too. The government has taken all the precautions to catch and punish anyone who disrupts the process. There is no fear of any sort of violence. We will have a free, fair, transparent and non-violent election tomorrow. There are 2,000 candidates belonging to 28 political parties and 369 independent candidates contesting," said the Foreign Minister.

"In our South Asia culture, before and after the elections there is always some disruption. yesterday some arsonists and terrorists burnt four compartments resulting in four deaths. They must be well organised to do this vandalism. The police have already picked up the main person behind it. He belongs to the opposition party BNP. There is a demand by the general public to shoot him dead. This will give a lesson to others to not do such arson and vandalism," he added.

On the the main opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotting the elections, Momen said that it is hardly going to make any impact.

"BNP was the largest party but since October 28, when they converted themselves into a terrorist organisation, the support for BNP has dramatically reduced... People don't listen to them anymore. People are demanding that since they have converted into a terrorist organisation, they should be banned... Their boycotting is not going to make any impact", said the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh.

Commencing on Saturday, BNP issued a call for a 48-hour nationwide 'hartal' (general strike) to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's "illegal government," the Dhaka Tribune reported.

The BNP will carry out processions, and mass campaigns and distribute leaflets against the polls across the country, as reported by the Dhaka Tribune.

Moreover, the second day of the hartal coincides with the election, which has already gathered global attention.

According to the final voter list published by the Election Commission, a total of 119,689,289 people are eligible to cast their votes in the 12th parliamentary election; among them, there are 67,609,741 male voters, 58,918,699 female voters, and 849 transgender voters. Meanwhile, there are around 15 million voters who are currently abroad, reported the Dhaka Tribune.

The 12th national polls are scheduled to be held on Sunday. Balloting will begin at 8 am and continue till 4 pm.