Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, along with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, called on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi on Monday.
The Bangladesh PM was in the national capital to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers.
The connection between Sheikh Hasina and the Gandhi family can be traced back to the relationship between their predecessors. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh Hasina’s father and the founding leader of Bangladesh, had a cordial relationship with Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India.
Indira Gandhi played a significant role during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, supporting Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan, which has fostered a long-standing sense of gratitude and mutual respect.
Sheikh Hasina went New Delhi on Saturday to attend high-profile event in which top leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region including Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe participated. The meeting took place at the ITC Maurya Sheraton hotel at Sardar Vallabbhai Patel Marg in New Delhi where Hasina had been staying.
“It was a courtesy call because of long-standing close links between the Gandhi family and the Hasina family,” a senior Congress leader said without elaborating.
The bonhomie between Hasina and the Gandhi family came forth as the PM was warmly hugged by Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka.
President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday hosted a banquet for the foreign dignitaries at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here, an official statement said.
“Leaders who attended the banquet include the President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe; the President of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu; the Vice President of Seychelles, Ahmed Afif; the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina; the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and (his spouse) Kobita Jugnauth; the Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda; and the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay,” it said.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said that Sheikh Hasina has expressed her willingness to work with the new government in the future to strengthen the ties.
“PM Sheikh Hasina attended the oath-taking ceremony (of PM Modi and the council of ministers) and after that, she had a one-to-one meeting with PM Narendra Modi, where she again congratulated him and the NDA for winning the elections. She expresses her willingness to work with the new government in future to strengthen the ties,” Hasan Mahmud told ANI.
He further highlighted that the relationship between the two nations has reached to a “new height” under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Modi.
“She has also invited PM Modi to visit Bangladesh,” he noted.
