After 9 yrs, Mamata meets B'desh envoy at Nabanna
met Bangladesh high commissioner to India M Riaz Hamidullah at Nabanna on Monday, for nearly 40 minutes.
This marked the first such interaction since 2016, when Syed Muazzem Ali, the then Bangladesh high commissioner, had met the CM.
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Despite attempts by subsequent envoys, meetings did not materialise.
Chief secretary Manoj Pant attended Monday's meeting along with Bangladesh's acting deputy high commissioner in Kolkata, Sikder Mohammad Ashrafur Rahman. Nabanna officials remained reserved about the meeting's details and Hamidullah was unavailable for comment.
Hamidullah posted on X: "Paid a courtesy call on CM of West Bengal in Kolkata.
She reflected on deeper Bangladesh-India connects and need to strengthen ties in shared interests in mutually beneficial ways."
The Bangladesh deputy high commission released a statement describing it as a courtesy meeting. "Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee expressed her hope to the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India, Riaz Hamidullah, at her office in Nabanna, to strengthen the traditional ties between the people of Bengal and Bangladesh.
During the cordial and warm courtesy meeting, the CM requested the High Commissioner to convey her greetings to Bangladesh's chief advisor Professor Dr Yunus and the people of Bangladesh.
This was the first courtesy meeting of the newly appointed High Commissioner of Bangladesh with any chief minister of India. During the meeting, the CM noted that the enduring linguistic, cultural and shared values-based spiritual connection between the people of Bengal and Bangladesh goes beyond economic and commercial relations.
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She expressed her commitment to maintaining her communication with Bangladesh in the future," it said.
The meeting took place in the backdrop of recent tensions following the vandalism of
's historic 'Kachhari Bari' at Sirajganj two weeks ago. The Nobel laureate had close links with the Sirajganj house as he used to visit this place frequently.
Banerjee sent a strongly worded letter to PM Narendra Modi on June 12, requesting intervention with the Bangladesh govt. In her letter, she said: "I would urge you to kindly take up the matter very strongly with the neighbouring country's govt, so that no stone is left unturned to swiftly bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous and mindless act. Although untold damage has already been done, a strong international protest would at least deter in future any attack on monuments of cultural legacies that have withstood steadfastly all tests of time.
"
Diplomatic sources indicated that Hamidullah may have explained the actual circumstances of the vandalism to the CM, as Dhaka had previously said that it was a local law enforcement matter.
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