Days after Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman opted out of attending the BRICS summit in Delhi, the ruling BNP party has embarked on anti-India rhetoric, alleging that India would could supply of Adani Power to Bangladesh at any time.
BNP acting secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had not attended the BRICS summit after concerns that he would be sidelined there. He said Tarique Rahman had been invited not as the prime minister of Bangladesh but as the head of BIMSTEC and that he had upheld the country’s dignity by deciding not to attend.
These accusations come despite the Ministry of External Affairs clarifying that Rahman was invited to India on two occasions. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said one invitation was sent for a bilateral visit and another to attend the BRICS Summit as chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). “On the visit of the [Bangladesh] Prime Minister, we have not heard anything,” he said.
However, Rizvi said that a day after Tarique Rahman decided not to attend the BRICS summit, reports emerged that a unit of the Adani power plant had developed a fault. “The power plant supplies 1,300MW of electricity to Bangladesh. But its switch is in Jharkhand, India. They can turn it off and on at any time,” he said.
‘Does one need a PhD to understand the political equation behind such a situation?’ he asked.
Rizvi’s accusations come as reports cited a technical fault at an Adani Power thermal power plant in Jharkhand, which primarily supplies electricity to Bangladesh. However, two days later, Adani clarified that it has resumed operation of both units of its power plant and is now supplying 1,046.73 megawatts (MW) of electricity to Bangladesh's national grid. "We have finally brought both units of the power plant back into operation today after resolving the technical faults, and generation is being increased gradually," Adani Power said.
Bangladesh imports electricity from Adani Power under a 25-year power purchase agreement signed in 2017 to purchase 1,600 MW from its coal-fired power plant in Godda.
Rizvi’s also accused India of plotting against Bangladesh by sheltering former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He said that despite repeated requests from the Bangladesh government to return Sheikh Hasina and her associates, India was not responding.
"You (India) claim to be our friendly country. But what kind of friend are you? You have given shelter to Sheikh Hasina, who drank the blood of 1,400 youth, students, the public and workers in the 24th movement. Those who opened fire on pro-democracy people and committed genocide with her are also fleeing there. Yet, despite warrants issued by the court, the Bangladesh government is repeatedly failing to bring them back."
