India a great friend: Bangladesh PM Hasina after her election victory

Describing India as a "great friend" of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said the two neighbours have resolved many problems bilaterally, a day after she won an overwhelming majority in the general elections and secured a record fourth straight term.

The 76-year-old leader, who has been ruling the strategically located South Asian nation since 2009, won a fifth overall term in the one-sided election on Sunday, which witnessed a low turnout.

"India is a great friend of Bangladesh. They have supported us in 1971 and also in 1975. They gave shelter to me and my sister and my other family members," she said, referring to her period in exile when she stayed in India for six years after the killing of her family members.

 

In August 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his wife and their three sons were assassinated in their home by military officers. His daughters Hasina and Rehana survived the purge as they were abroad.

"We consider India as our next-door neighbour. We had many problems but we resolved it bilaterally. So, I really appreciate that we have a wonderful relationship with India," she said while responding to a question. She hoped that the two sides would resolve the remaining issues as well.

"I have a good relationship with every country because that is our motto," she said in an interaction with the foreign media at The Ganabhaban, the official residence of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

Hasina is credited for skilfully negotiating the rival interests of India and China as Bangladesh is virtually sandwiched between the two Asian giants. She got the support of both the big neighbours and Russia ahead of the elections.

While India described the Bangladesh elections as an "internal matter", the West, including the United States, called for credible and inclusive polls. The US threatened to deny visas to officials and politicians whom it deems to be undermining the democratic election".

But Hasina said that her government's policy was "friendship to all and malice to none and added that she had good relations with US President Joe Biden as well.

Hasina said that she will continue to seek friendship with all to carry forward her mission for a better Bangladesh. "I want good relations with every country to continue our (development) initiatives," she said in her first press conference after the victory in the elections.

She said that the main focus of her government in the next five years will be on economic progress.

She said she tries to work for her people. "With motherly affection, I look after my people who gave me this opportunity. Time and again people have voted for me, and that is why I am here," she added.

When compared to global leaders like former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi and Sri Lanka's former prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Hasina said, "They are very great ladies. I am not. I am very simple, just a common person."

"When you run the country you should not consider yourself as a man or woman. But I am a mother and I consider the people as my children," she added.

The voter turnout was 41.8 per cent in Sunday's polls due to a boycott call given by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) of ailing and jailed former premier Khaleda Zia.

Asked if she thought Bangladesh was a vibrant democracy, when some 60 per cent of the people abstained from voting and the major opposition stayed away from the polls, Hasina retorted that the turnout was better than many advanced democracies.

Hasina dismissed the Opposition criticism, saying, "Those who want to criticise can criticise."

She said that the "election was free and fair" and brushed aside the BNP boycott of the polls. "If any party does not participate in the election, it does not mean there is no democracy," she added.

She strongly condemned the BNP for spearheading a protracted violent campaign to achieve its political objective.

"I am not revengeful (and) I am a very liberal person," she said.

"We've set an example that elections can be free, fair and neutral. You (observers and journalists) have come and witnessed how the people cast votes in our country," she said while exchanging views with foreign journalists and election observers at Ganabhaban, following the 12th parliamentary election.

She said, "This victory is not my victory. I think that this victory is the victory of the people of this country."

Hasina called Sunday's election an exceptional one when "we (ruling party) opened it for party intenders beyond the party nominees and the participation was spontaneous, as a result of which many Awami League heavyweights and several other stalwarts suffered defeat.

Hasina said her new government's mission would be to develop a smart Bangladesh.