Excelsior Correspondent
DHAKA, Oct 22: General Secretary of All India Congress Committee, Ghulam Nabi Azad today said that India and Bangladesh are close strategic partners in counter terrorism.
Azad, who is leading a high level delegation to attend the 20th Triennial Conference of Bangladesh Awami League at Dhaka, extended warm greetings of Congress President Sonia Gandhi to the Bangladesh Awami League and its leaders in general and its President, Sheikh Hasina Wajid in particular.
“The relationship between the two political parties–the Awami League and the Indian National Congress is very strong and goes way back in time. Congress has lent its support to the Awami League in some of its most defining moments in history and I am happy that our efforts have been graciously acknowledged in the citation included in the award conferred on Indira Gandhi”, he said.
While spelling out the similarities among the two political parties viz-viz Indian National Congress and Awami League, Azad said, “the Awami League and the Indian National Congress have played an instrumental role in the development of their countries during the post independence period”, adding “among the challenges we faced, the foremost was the challenge of eradicating poverty and upliftment of the strata who suffered discrimination”.
Speaking about warmth of the relations between India and Bangladesh, Azad said that successive Governments led by the Congress Prime Ministers of India and the Awami League Prime Ministers of Bangladesh have on various issues helped in cementing the ties between the two countries.
Recalling the passage of 100th Constitutions Amendment Bill in Indian Parliament, Azad said, “as the leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, I witnessed the historic passage of the 100th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Indian Parliament which gave effect to Land Boundary Agreement. It was indeed a milestone in Bangladesh-India relations as well as the functioning of our Parliamentary democracy as the Indian National Congress and all other political parties showed a great demonstration of comradeship by unanimously adopting the bill”.
He further said that India and Bangladesh are close strategic partners in counter terrorism, adding “India appreciate various steps taken by the Government of Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid to counter terrorist activities on Bangladeshi soil in the aftermath of July terror attack. This will further help in strengthening global community’s fight against terrorism”.
Recalling the great Bangladeshi leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Azad said that it was he who led and mobilized the mass civil disobedience and non co-operation which finally led to the liberation of Bangladesh.
“India’s links with Bangladesh are civilizational, cultural, social and economic. There is much that unites the two countries – a shared history and common heritage, linguistic and cultural ties, passion for music, literature and the arts”, he said.
MPs Pradeep Bhattacharya, Abhijeet Mukherjee and Mausam Noor are accompanying Azad for attending 20th Triennial Conference of Bangladesh Awami League.
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