Sheikh Hasina's conflating comments were made in her individual capacity: India to Bangladesh

Responding to media queries, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal explained why Bangladesh Acting High Commissioner to India Md Nurul Islam was summoned by the MEA on Friday.

He said conflating comments made by Hasina in her individual capacity with India's position is not good for bilateral ties.

"It was conveyed that India desires a positive, constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with Bangladesh, which has been reiterated several times in recent high-level meetings. It is, however, regrettable that regular statements made by Bangladesh authorities continue to portray India negatively, holding us responsible for internal governance issues," the MEA spokesperson said in a statement.

These statements by Bangladesh are in fact responsible for the persistent negativity," Mr Jaiswal said.

"Comments attributed to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have been made in her individual capacity in which India has no role to play. Conflating this with the government of India's position is not going to help and positivity to bilateral relations," he said.

"While the government of India will make efforts for a mutually beneficial relationship we expect that Bangladesh will reciprocate similarly without vitiating the atmosphere," the MEA spokesperson said.

The MEA's statement comes a day after India strongly condemned the vandalism of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's residence in Dhaka.

"All those who value the freedom struggle that nurtured Bangla identity and pride are aware of the importance of this residence for the national consciousness of Bangladesh. This act of vandalism should be strongly condemned," the MEA spokesperson said on Thursday.

The historic residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, a symbol of the heroic resistance of the people of Bangladesh against oppressive forces, was vandalised and set ablaze on February 5.