Ahead of next week’s BIMSTEC meeting in Thailand, there is speculation on any possible bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh caretaker of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, following a request from the latter’s country. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, reportedly, has told a parliamentary panel that the Bangladeshi proposal was “under consideration”. There is also speculation that the meeting is unlikely to take place, which is the way it should be. Any such meeting is best avoided as Yunus does not have the required legitimacy to have a bilateral with the elected head of government of the world’s largest democracy, a constitutional post holder. Just by getting himself declared the caretaker of a so-called interim government, Yunus does not acquire the status of a head of government. According to Bangladesh’s own Constitution, elections must be held inside 90 days of the ouster/fall of a government. Seven months after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster from Dhaka’s seat of power, there is no sign of Bangladesh holding any election. In fact, the election is being delayed under the pretext of reforming the system. Even if an election is held sometime later this year, there is no guarantee that it would be free and fair, given the attempts being made to ban the country’s oldest and biggest mainstream political party, Hasina’s Awami League.

There are also reports that Yunus had wanted to come to India, but was spurned by New Delhi. Those lamenting the fact that he has gone to China first, instead of coming to India, need to remember Yunus’ borderline hostility towards India right from the beginning, especially until the time he thought he had US President Joe Biden’s backing and could get away bypassing India’s concerns. In fact, he was getting away with it. He paid zero heed to India when it raised the issue of minority oppression by radical extremists in Bangladesh. He passed it off as propaganda by big countries, thus obviously referring to India. Till date, he refuses to admit that he has not been able to rein in the jihadi elements running amok in Bangladesh. It’s only recently that Yunus has become more conciliatory towards India, as with the ascent of Donald Trump, Yunus has realised that the current administration might actually hold him accountable for the horrifying persecution of minorities and political activists aligned with the Awami League in Bangladesh. US DNI Tulsi Gabbard has already sounded the alarm bells during her visit to India, while President Trump has left Bangladesh to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take care of. Hence, it is no surprise that Yunus is looking to mend ties with India. But he cannot be trusted, for his agenda is just an extension of the Pakistani agenda, as evident from his latest suggestion that India should revive the SAARC. One of the reasons India has shifted focus from SAARC to BIMSTEC is to limit Pakistan’s influence in the neighbourhood, leaving Islamabad fuming. However, by aligning with a failed state, a terrorist state, all that Yunus achieved was being sternly rebuked by India for normalising terror.

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Yunus has been taking great pride as an “international player”. But his “international” status is the result of benevolence from a particular side of the American political spectrum. He does not have bipartisan support, because of which he is now running around trying to befriend Elon Musk on the one hand, and India on the other. The US, which was turning a blind eye to all the excesses taking place in Bangladesh, is now more willing to pay heed to what’s happening there. This week, there was a congressional briefing on “Rising Radical Islamism, Chinese Influence, Minority Oppression in Bangladesh” organised by HinduACTion, where speakers sought “bipartisan effort” to impose the Magnitsky sanctions on Yunus and his Islamist backers. The Magnitsky Act imposes sanctions on those involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption. In other words, the world is getting ready to hold Yunus accountable and all his claims of being an international player may not save him, eventually. The issue of Bangladesh has been internationalised, and Yunus and Co can no longer dismiss it as “exaggerated propaganda” spread by India. Henceforth, he should be careful about every step he takes, for the world is watching. Also, the bilateral he seeks with the Indian Prime Minister can wait. Let him rush into China’s embrace, but that does not change the fact that his puny country is surrounded on three sides by India. Bangladesh will be a basket case without India. That’s a geographical reality no amount of Pakistani and Chinese embrace can change.