Diplomatic Correspondent :
The slashing of Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen from the Prime Minister’s entourage bound for Delhi in the eleventh hour sent a welcoming signal to India that the Awami League government does not want to ’embarrass’ its trusted partner.
Sources said the entourage of Prime minister Sheikh Hasina which reached Delhi on Monday for bilateral negotiations on multiple issues marooned the Foreign Minister in the last hour under the excuse of illness.
Before the PM’s visit to India, there were speculations that Foreign Minister might be dropped from the list of the high-profile delegation for his controversial remarks seeking India’s cooperation to keep the Awami League government in power.
The dropout of the Foreign Minister who usually plays a pivotal role in the negotiation stage to perform the dealings of the foreign affairs with other countries has made the visit a bit uncomfortable.
His party colleagues felt discomfort for Momen’s repeated controversial speeches including ‘people of Bangladesh are living in paradise’ amid the economic crunch. They even urged the party high-ups to take necessary steps in this regard.
Momen’s comment has not only embarrassed the Awami Leaders, the other political parties and think-tanks could not swallow the bitter pill of ‘India’s assistance’ for gripping power as the opposition and others described it as a threat to the sovereignty of the country.
Even diplomatic sources said that the Indian government also felt ’embarrassed’ for such naked and egregious comment from a top minister.
Earlier, Foreign Minister was riddled with criticism when he delivered the controversial speech in a function of Janmashtami in Chattogram where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was virtually present as the Chief Guest.
However, the following day Dr. Momen soon after placing floral wreaths at the Mausoleum of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Tungipara clarified his comment with self-defence.
When the situation went awry in the political landscape, Momen after a Cabinet meeting in the Secretariat said he did not make any such comment, saying that ‘it was a damn lie’ and a distortion of his speech.
When Dr Momen sees the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India as a ‘husband and wife’ relationship, he has been abandoned from a high-level visit spearheaded by Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina to India ahead of the national election.
Ironically, Foreign Minister during the press conference on the occasion of the PM’s visit to India on Sunday announced his own name that he would accompany the Prime Minister along with his other colleagues.
But when the Prime Minister’s aircraft took off from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 10:15am for Delhi, the cloud of speculation became clear with the message that Dr Momen is not boarding the flight.
Foreign Ministry sources said that he could not join the visit because his health condition is not permissible.
However, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam is accompanying the Prime Minister along with other ministers and high officials.
The opposition political parties said that the Awami League government does not want to ’embarrass’ the Indian government and they said that when the BJP leader Nupur Sharma made a controversial statement about Holy Prophet Hazrat Mohammad (Sm), the AL government did not protest it.
The Islamist parties demanded the government to table a ‘motion of condemnation’ before the parliament but the government kept mum.
The political leaders believe that the AL government does not want to cause any trouble to Delhi before the national election.
Right now Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her robust delegation are on a four day visit to India to negotiate the bilateral issues with her counterpart Narendra Modi.
