Kamal Ghorui
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday met Bangladesh’s newly sworn-in prime minister Tarique Rahman and handed over a personal congratulatory letter by PM Narendra Modi.In a post on X, Bangladesh high commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah said, “PM Tarique Rahman, conveyed his greetings to India and PM Narendra Modi, at a courtesy meet following the swearing-in of the news government.” He added that Birla conveyed wishes from India and extended an invitation to the country. “Both leaders expressed optimism to work together for the well-being of the people of Bangladesh & India pursuing a people-centric menu of cooperation,” the post said.Birla accompanied by foreign secretary Vikram Misri attended the swearing-in ceremony of Rahman on behalf of PM Modi and the Indian government. Earlier, Bangladesh’s interim government chief Md Yunus had extended an invitation to PM Modi to attend Rahman’s swearing-in. However, citing the visit of French president Emmanuel Macron to Mumbai and the Artificial Intelligence Summit in Delhi this week, the PM declined the invitation.BNP leader and son of former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia and president Ziaur Rahman, Tarique Rahman was on Tuesday sworn in as Bangladesh’s new prime minister, marking a new beginning for the country after a nearly 18-month period of political uncertainty and lawlessness under the rule of the interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus.In a break from tradition, President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to 60-year-old Rahman at the South Plaza instead of the customary venue of Bangabhaban.Rahman returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in self-imposed exile in London. This marks his first term as prime minister. He succeeds interim government chief Yunus, who had assumed office in August 2024 following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League administration. Relations between Dhaka and New Delhi cooled during Yunus’s tenure.Earlier in the day, BNP lawmakers elected Rahman as leader of their parliamentary party.At the ceremony, President Shahabuddin also administered the oath to 25 cabinet ministers and 24 state ministers. The event was attended by representatives from neighbouring countries, including India and Pakistan.The new cabinet features two members from minority communities – BNP vice president Nitai Roy Chowdhury, a Hindu, and Dipen Dewan, a Buddhist. In an unexpected move, outgoing interim regime’s security adviser Khalilur Rahman was inducted as a technocrat minister, while some senior BNP leaders were excluded.In the February 12 general elections, the BNP won 209 of 297 seats, while Jamaat-e-Islami secured 68 seats. The Awami League did not contest the polls. The elections followed a prolonged period of political uncertainty and instability after nationwide student-led protests in August 2024 led to the fall of the Awami League government.
