Bangladesh cancels ministers' India trips due to anti-CAA protests
A day after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's India visit was cancelled, Bangladesh cancelled two ministers' trips to India amid violent protests in India's Assam state capital Guwahati over a contentious citizenship bill. Bangladesh has demanded heightened security for its mission in Guwahati following two subsequent attacks in the city. Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday summoned Indian High Commissioner Riva Ganguly Das and protested against the attack on the convoy of Bangladeshi assistant high commissioner and vandalism of the Bangladesh mission in Guwahati, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The statement said Bangladesh, however, "believes that the attack on the convoy of the Assistant High Commissioner and vandalization of the signposts is a one-off incident and it will not affect the excellent bilateral relations that Bangladesh and India enjoy." The incidents took place as violent protests are underway over the adoption of the citizenship amendment bill by the Indian parliament.
Against this backdrop, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal Thursday cancelled their scheduled trip to India.
The annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe scheduled from December 15-17 in Guwahati has been cancelled in the wake of massive protests rocking the Assam capital city over the amended citizenship law.
Earlier, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, "With reference to the proposed visit of Japanese PM Abe to India, both sides have decided to defer the visit to a mutually convenient date in the near future."
(With inputs from IANS)
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