India pitches for holding inclusive elections in Bangladesh

New Delhi, Sep 26 (PTI) India on Friday called for holding "free, fair and credible" elections in Bangladesh even as it brushed aside interim government chief Muhammad Yunus's adverse remarks against New Delhi.

At an event in New York on Wednesday, Yunus indirectly criticised India for giving shelter to former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

India is hosting Hasina, who created all the problems in Bangladesh, and that creates a lot of tension between the two countries, Yunus said.

"We have problems with India right now because they did not like what the students have done," he said, referring to last year's massive anti-government protests in Dhaka that forced Hasina to quit power.

At his weekly media briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal did not respond to questions on Yunus's remarks.

However, he repeated India's call to hold inclusive elections in that country.

"We have repeatedly underlined our expectation of a smooth and peaceful democratic transition through free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in the country," Jaiswal said.

The parliamentary elections in Bangladesh are scheduled to be held in February.

There has been a sharp downturn in India-Bangladesh relations after deposed prime minister Hasina fled Dhaka and took shelter in India in August last year in the face of a massive anti-government protest. PTI MPB ZMN