New Delhi [India], August 5 : Former diplomat Veena Sikri defended former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's upcoming address in New Delhi, asserting that it should not be viewed as a political speech and calling for reconciliation and the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh.
Her remarks came after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that the Government of India has no involvement in Sheikh Hasina's scheduled address on Wednesday, which is being organised by a private media entity, and does not endorse any views that may be expressed during the interaction.
Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, Sikri rejected the description of the event as it being a political speech.
"First of all, I think the question of political speeches is a completely wrong characterisation because she is not making a political speech. She has said she wants to go back to her country... tomorrow, she is expected to address the conference on the details of her wanting to go back," Sikri said.
Referring to developments in Bangladesh over the past two years, Sikri said, "Sheikh Hasina was ousted exactly two years ago... the first thing to be considered is that this was not a student uprising; it was a carefully planned, meticulously designed regime change operation. Muhammad Yunus was made Interim Chief Adviser with the Jamaat-e-Islami as the main power behind the throne."
She further alleged that Bangladesh witnessed economic decline and attacks on minorities following Hasina's ouster.
"Is there democracy in Bangladesh? After ousting her, the regime created complete havoc for 18 months. The economy went down, minorities were attacked, and there was absolutely no element of democracy. The so-called Students' Party really doesn't exist; it is not recognised by anybody... as for the claim that human rights organisations have given a report stating so many people died, those are all fake news," she said.
Sikri added that Hasina should be permitted to return to Bangladesh and face legal proceedings.
"She wants to go and face the court, which is a very normal request in a democracy, and I think she should be allowed to go back. In fact, my opinion is that this is the moment for reconciliation, a moment when all political forces in Bangladesh should come together to reconcile and bring genuine democracy back to the country," she said.
Commenting on India-Bangladesh ties, Sikri criticised Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's handling of bilateral relations.
"Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has done nothing to improve ties between India and Bangladesh. In fact, he has insulted our High Commissioner, who is a personal representative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a political appointee holding cabinet rank," she said.
She further claimed that Rahman had not met India's High Commissioner despite meeting other foreign representatives.
"He has met other people, including the visiting American ambassador, but he has not yet met our High Commissioner, which is a direct insult to a high-level political appointee. He went to China and agreed on projects, such as Mongla Port and the Teesta Basin Development, which he knows are very sensitive to India's security," she said.
"These were projects previously discussed with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had informed the Chinese that they were being given to India due to security considerations. Present Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has ignored all of that, refusing to even meet our representatives while agreeing to proceed with those projects," Sikri said.
The remarks come after MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during the weekly media briefing that the proposed interaction involving Sheikh Hasina is being organised by a private media entity and that the Government of India has no role in it.
"The interaction you refer to is being organised by a private media entity. The government has no involvement whatsoever in it. Neither does it endorse any views that may be expressed at the forum," Jaiswal said.
Bangladesh has expressed concern over reports of Sheikh Hasina's proposed virtual address, saying it could adversely affect the recent improvement in bilateral ties. The issue was discussed during a meeting between Bangladesh's Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir and India's newly appointed High Commissioner to Dhaka, Dinesh Trivedi.
Jaiswal also confirmed that India had extended a formal invitation to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for a bilateral visit after he assumed office in February 2026 and had separately invited him, in his capacity as BIMSTEC Chair, to attend the outreach session of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13.