Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma (File photo)
NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday warned that India would not remain silent and teach a “lesson” if politicians in Bangladesh continued to make remarks about India’s northeastern region.His comments came a day after Hasnat Abdullah, a senior leader of the newly formed National Citizen Party, said Dhaka should “isolate” India’s northeastern states and support separatist elements in the region if New Delhi attempted to “destabilise” the neighbouring country.“For the last one year, statements have been coming repeatedly from that country (Bangladesh) that the states of northeast India should be separated and made a part of Bangladesh.
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We are a very big country, a nuclear nation and the world’s fourth-largest economy. How can Bangladesh even think about it?” Sarma told reporters, according to PTI.“This mindset should not be encouraged, and Bangladesh should not be helped much in any way. We should teach them a lesson that if they continue to behave in this way. We will not remain silent,” the BJP leader added.On Monday, Abdullah, a key leader of the student-led protests that brought down Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina government in August last year, claimed that India’s northeastern states were geographically “vulnerable” as they depend on the narrow Siliguri Corridor—also known as the “Chicken’s Neck”—for connectivity with the rest of the country. Hasina has been living in Delhi since fleeing Dhaka, and ties between the two neighbours have been at an all-time low since her ouster. Last month, an International Crimes Tribunal found her guilty and sentenced her to death for “crimes against humanity” during the protests. Hasina rejected the verdict, describing it as “politically motivated.”Dhaka has repeatedly sought the former prime minister’s extradition, a request New Delhi has said is “being examined.”Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, whose caretaker administration has been governing Bangladesh since the fall of Hasina’s government, has also repeatedly commented on India’s northeastern region, commonly known as the “Seven Sisters” after the seven states that constitute it.
