2 min readNew DelhiMay 2, 2026 01:07 AM IST
Amid the heat and dust of the elections in Assam, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry has summoned India’s acting High Commissioner Pawan Badhe and lodged a formal protest over comments made by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Director General (South Asia) Ishrat Jahan conveyed Bangladesh’s position to the Indian diplomat on Thursday, an official was quoted by Bangladesh media reports.
In a social media post last week, Sarma said 20 foreign nationals were apprehended in Assam and pushed back to Bangladesh. “Rude people don’t understand soft language. We continuously remind ourselves of this prophetic line when we expel infiltrators from Assam who don’t leave themselves. For instance, these 20 illegal Bangladeshis who were PUSHED BACK last night,” Sarma had said.
Ishrat told the Indian diplomat that such comments undermine the spirit of friendly relations between the two countries, the reports said. The official described the remarks as “disparaging” to Bangladesh-India relations and expressed Dhaka’s displeasure.
Ishrat highlighted the importance of exercising restraint when addressing sensitive bilateral issues.
In Delhi, Indian officials said that Sarma’s views don’t represent the views of the Indian government, and should not be seen as such.
The Indian government has been seeking to restabilise and repair the ties with the new government in Bangladesh, under BNP chief and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, and sources said that such comments vitiates the atmosphere.
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Sources said the Indian government has appointed former Union minister and BJP leader Dinesh Trivedi as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh to strengthen the ties.
