New Delhi, July 4: S.M. Krishna begins a two-day visit to Dhaka from Wednesday under the shadow of Manmohan Singh’s purported remarks about “anti-Indian” sentiments in Bangladesh, with some fearing the foreign minister could face a backlash from radical groups.

Sources said the foreign minister was scheduled to attend a string of public programmes and there would be additional security at these places.

Prime Minister Singh told some newspaper editors last week: “We must reckon that at least 25 per cent of the population of Bangladesh swears by the Jamiat-ul-Islami and they are very anti-Indian, and they are in the clutches, many times, of the ISI.” But the PMO later removed the lines from the official transcript.

Today, Krishna conceded there could be problems. “Sometimes you know the way we report, some confusion could come up, especially when one is quoted off the record,” he said. Some saw in the statement a faint sign that Krishna was upset with the PMO for having failed to nip the controversy quickly enough.

Krishna said his trip would prepare ground for the Prime Minister’s visit to Dhaka on September 6 and 7.

The dates were announced today. Sources said the declaration of the dates was an attempt to smooth ruffled feathers in Bangladesh.

Krishna denied suggestions that his visit was an effort to repair the perceived damage caused by Singh’s remarks. He asserted that the Prime Minister had been a “consistent champion of close Indo-Bangladesh relations”.

“He (Singh) conveyed to me he is looking forward to his visit to Bangladesh,” Krishna, who met Singh today, said. Singh himself called Hasina to tell her “how much he was looking forward to the visit”.

Krishna is scheduled to meet Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, foreign minister Dipu Moni and leader of Opposition Khaleda Zia.

Krishna’s visit comes at a time many in the government and the Congress feel his portfolio may get downgraded in the impending cabinet reshuffle.

In that sense, the trip may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. The situation is similar to July 2010 when some wanted Krishna to be sacked after his fractious news conference with then Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad.

Krishna’s performance had come in for criticism but he eventually saved his job. New Delhi didn’t want to be seen as sacking the minister because of what happened in Islamabad.