KOLKATA: Narendra Modi on Sunday became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the 12th-century Dhakeshwari Temple in Dhaka and met former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and other Opposition leaders, who told him that democracy was in danger in their country.
Modi performed an “arati” at the temple after talking to the priests. He was gifted a replica of Goddess Dhakeswari, a shawl and some other memorabilia. He spent around 20 minutes at the temple, which is owned by the government and enjoys “national temple” status. The temple was closed to the public for an hour in view of the VIP visit.
Modi’s most important meeting of the day was with Zia, chairperson of the Opposition BNP. Zia, a former Prime Minister and widow of slain dictator General Ziaur Rahman, held a one-to-one meeting with Modi for around 10 minutes at the Sonargaon Hotel.
Other political leaders who met Modi expressed concern that “there is no democracy in Bangladesh”.
The leaders of the BNP, which boycotted the January 2014 elections, told Modi that the Awami League Government had won without any Opposition and that “the lack of democracy in Bangladesh might trigger an uncomfortable situation in south Asia”, according to Abdul Moyeen Khan, a BNP leader who was part of the delegation.
“Without democracy, people’s welfare couldn’t be ensured anywhere in the world. Bangladesh’s development will also be not possible unless a representative government is there. We discussed these issues in the meeting,” Moyeen told mediapersons after the meeting.
Modi’s meeting with Zia was significant as insurgent groups from the Northeast had found sanctuary in Bangladesh.
Zia, known for her “anti-India stand”, was alleged to have allowed ISI to train Indian militants in Bangladesh to carry out subversive activities in the Northeast.
After Sheikh Hasina took over as Prime Minister in 2014, the Bangladesh army drove out all Indian militant groups and even killed several insurgents in massive crackdowns.
However, Modi’s parting remarks to Hasina, “Bangabondhu desh banaya, uski ladki desh bachaya” (Bangabandhu Mujibar Rahman, Bangladesh’s first Prime Minister, made the country and his daughter saved the country) is an indication that India will stand by the Awami League Government.
From the Dhakeswari Temple, Modi proceeded to the nearby Ramakrishna Math, a branch of Belurmath in West Bengal’s Howrah district, which he had visited last month.
At he Math, he participated in prayers with the saffron-robed monks and posed for photographs.
He was welcomed by the chief of the Dhaka branch of the Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Dhruveshananda, and was gifted copies of the Gujarati translation of Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa Deb and Swami Vivekananda’s writings.