India on Tuesday expressed concern over the ban on the Awami League of deposed former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by the interim government in Dhaka without due process.
The League was banned on Saturday under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Breaking India’s silence on the ban while fielding a question on the issue at the briefing, external affairs ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said: “The ban on the Awami League without due process is a concerning development. As a democracy, India is naturally concerned at curtailment of democratic freedoms and shrinking political space. We strongly support the early holding of free, fair and inclusive elections in Bangladesh.”
The ban extends to the League’s online presence: a platform Hasina has been using to address Bangladesh from India where she sought refuge after being forced out of her country by protesters in August last year.
Mohammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser of the interim government, had specifically asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restrain Hasina from making “incendiary statements” against his government from New Delhi when the two met in Bangkok in April.