Refuge to Hasina may evoke adverse reactions against India: BNP leaders

Indo-Bangla bilateral ties are not dependent on the Awami League and it is "natural to evoke adverse reactions" in Bangladesh over India giving refuge to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Senior leaders of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said on Friday.

Asserting that India was "very important" to Bangladesh, Senior BNP leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain told PTI over the phone from Dhaka that "it is high time to start a new chapter in bilateral relations.

Hossain also welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's congratulatory message to the interim government in Bangladesh and hoped that the Indian government would no longer continue to support the Awami League and Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to flee the country following a mass uprising.

Echoing similar sentiments, BNP Vice-Chairman Abdul Awal Mintoo said it would have been better had Hasina not fled to India.

"It would have been better had she not fled to India, as we are yearning to have good relations with India. Banglades