The Bangladesh government has written to India to explain that the planned visit of its foreign minister A.K. Abdul Momen to New Delhi was cancelled due to domestic issues pertaining to the national day celebrations, said ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, adding that any speculation that it is connected with the legislation India passed on Thursday on the Citizen Amendment Bill is "unwarranted".
Momen was to visit India to participate in the Delhi Dialogue. He has also reportedly criticised the legislation, saying one needed to visit Bangladesh to see how minorities were being treated.
Kumar said that the two issues needed to be separated. He said not much needed to be read into the cancellation of the visit as "no bill will affect the strong relation between India and Bangladesh, which is in its Sonali Adhyaay (concern chapter).
Meanwhile, speculation is rife on the venue for the India-Japan Summit to be held from December 15 to 17 continues with the spokesperson claiming that he was not in a position to say anything. The venue is Guwahati but with the city witnessing agitation against the CAB, it doesn't appear as an ideal venue to host such a high-level talk.
