Have noted reports related to Lalmonirhat airbase in Bangladesh Govt tells Parliament

    New Delhi, Aug 8 (PTI) India has noted reports related to the Lalmonirhat airbase in Bangladesh, the government informed Parliament on Friday.
    In a written response to a query in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said the government has also noted a press briefing on May 26 by the Director of Military Operations of Bangladesh Army, in which it has been stated that "there are no plans at present for the Lalmonirhat airfield to be used for military purposes".
    The Ministry of External Affairs was asked whether Bangladesh has "authorised China to restart operations" at its Lalmonirhat Airbase, and if the government has "lodged its objections" with Bangladesh in this regard.
    Singh in his response said, "The government of India has noted reports concerning the Lalmonirhat airbase in Bangladesh."
    The government of India "continues to monitor" all developments having a bearing on national security and takes all necessary measures to safeguard it, he said.
     In a separate query, by TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, the MEA was asked whether the government has "formally lodged a diplomatic protest" with the Government of Bangladesh over the vandalism of Rabindra Kacharibari.
     Singh in a written response said on June 12 that the Government of India "strongly condemned" the "despicable attack and vandalisation" of the ancestral home of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, underlining that the violent act was a "disgrace to the memory and the inclusive values espoused by Gurudev Tagore".
     India urged the interim Government of Bangladesh to take strict action and prevent recurrence of such incidents, he said.
     The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, government of Bangladesh, thereafter issued a statement indicating that "two persons were arrested in connection to the attack and that appropriate legal action was being undertaken," the MoS said.
     "The Government of Bangladesh has also announced measures to increase the security of Rabindra Kacharibari," Singh said.
     Also, the Cultural Exchange Programme between India and Bangladesh, instituted under the framework of the 1972 Cultural Cooperation Agreement, provides for cooperation under various cultural disciplines, including support for archaeological conservation, the government said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)