Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that ousted Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina's stay in India is her personal decision influenced by the circumstances that led her to the country.
While speaking to NDTV's CEO and Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal at the HT Leadership Summit on Saturday, he was asked if Hasina was welcome in India for as long as she wanted. Jaishankar replied, "Well, that's a different issue, isn't it? She came here in a certain circumstance." Jaishankar continued saying that he thought this circumstance was a factor in what happened to her.
"But again, that is something in which she has to make up her mind."
Hasina fled to India in August last year following the mass uprising that led to the end of her 15-year rule.
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia for "crimes against humanity" committed during the July uprising.
Bangladesh government wrote to India seeking the extradition of Hasina -- once in December last year and then after the verdict last month. India said it would consider the request.
On the relationship between Bangladesh and India that remains strained since the ouster of Awami League government, Jaishankar emphasised on India's stance on the need for a credible democratic process in the neighbouring country, reports NDTV.
Referring to past political issues in Bangladesh, Jaishankar said, "What we heard was that people in Bangladesh, particularly those who are now in power, had an issue with how the elections were conducted earlier. Now, if the issue was the election, the first order of business would be to do a fair election."
"As far as we are concerned, we wish Bangladesh well. We think as a democratic country, any democratic country likes to see the will of the people ascertained through a democratic process," he told NDTV.
He expressed optimism for the future of the bilateral ties, stressing India's democratic preference for its neighbour.
"And I am quite confident that whatever comes out of the democratic process would have a balanced and mature view about the relationship and hopefully things would improve."