India-Bangladesh relations hit new low over exiled PM’s speech to press in Delhi

Bangladesh has lashed out at India for allowing the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to address journalists in New Delhi, plunging already strained bilateral relations to a fresh low.

Dhaka accused India of giving a platform to a fugitive it labelled a “convicted genocider” and of undermining efforts to repair ties, after Hasina vowed to return to Bangladesh in December despite facing a death sentence on charges of “crimes against humanity”.

The angry response late on Wednesday came hours after Hasina, speaking on the second anniversary of the massive student-led uprising that led to her flight to India, declared: “Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people.”

Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said it was “outraged” Hasina had been allowed to participate in the event, where it said she and her allies launched “venomous vitriol” against Bangladesh and its people.

“This interaction by Hasina on Indian soil stands as an affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh,” the ministry said. Dhaka also renewed its demands for India to extradite Hasina.

India earlier distanced itself from the news conference – Hasina’s first since fleeing Bangladesh in 2024, saying it had no role in organising it and would not endorse any political views voiced.

Hasina said she was ready to face whatever fate awaited her in Bangladesh, where her Awami League party is now banned. “They may put me in a cell. They may kill me. Anything may happen, but I still have to go,” the 78-year-old said via audio link.

“My life moved beyond calculations of personal safety long ago.”

After 15 years in power, Hasina fled to India in 2024 following weeks of student-led protests. Her government was accused of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including through the killing of opposition activists.

In her speech, she dismissed criminal cases against her as politically motivated and accused Bangladesh’s new government, led by Tarique Rahman, of economic mismanagement, political repression and persecution of her supporters.

Hasina was sentenced in absentia to death by hanging over her government’s deadly crackdown on the uprising. She said she wanted to return in December because it marked Bangladesh’s “month of victory”, commemorating Pakistan’s defeat in the 1971 independence war.

She claimed thousands of Awami League activists had been killed or jailed since her downfall.

Her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy stoked the diplomatic row by extolling India’s hospitality. “She’s being treated very well and has been provided with the full services and security accorded to a head of state,” he said. “Prime Minister Modi’s government has shown her the utmost respect.”

Hasina was joined at the event by Shakib Al Hasan, a former national cricket captain. Hours later unidentified attackers hurled petrol bombs and smashed windows at his home in Bangladesh, but no one was hurt, police said. Shakib, elected to parliament as an Awami League candidate, has remained outside Bangladesh since Hasina’s overthrow.

Reporting from The Guardian contributed to this story.