Indian media claims Bangladesh's account of Yunus-Modi meet 'mischievous, politically motivated'; cites only unnamed sources
Although the Bangladesh account was provided by Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on the record, the India media instead only relied on “unnamed sources” or even referred to as “the people”.
Citing only unnamed sources, Indian media today (6 April) claimed that the Bangladeshi version of a meeting between chief adviser Muhammad Yunus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "mischievous and politically motivated".
This information, made without citing anyone on the record, was picked up and carried by a number of media outlets.
It first began to trickle out following reports by India's state-run media agency Press Trust of India (PTI) and Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI).
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The report was then carried by major Indian media houses, including The Print, IndiaToday, Hindustan Times, Deccan Herald and The Economic Times.
The news was also picked up by MSN.com.
Although the Bangladesh account was provided by Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on the record, the India media instead only relied on "unnamed sources" or even referred to as "the people".
None of the outlets made any attempt to get any official quote on the issue as well. The similar wording of the reports, however, could also hint towards an unofficial briefing from the Indian government.
Indian media reports said "the people", responding to an official readout from the Bangladeshi side on the Modi-Yunus meeting in Bangkok and a Facebook post by Yunus' spokesperson Shafiqul Alam, said on condition of anonymity that the characterisation of the Indian premier's remarks regarding the relationship with Yunus and the previous Bangladesh government were "inaccurate".
The "sources" particularly took exception to remarks made by Yunus' press secretary Alam in a Facebook post on Saturday, saying the account of the meeting in Bangkok was "mischievous and politically motivated".
Alam said in the Facebook post that when Yunus raised Bangladesh's request for the extradition of Hasina, the "response was not negative". Alam also claimed Modi had said: "We saw her [Hasina's] disrespectful behaviour towards you [Yunus]."
Sources said there is no basis for the observation made by the Press Secretary on the extradition request pertaining to former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The sources, in fact, emphasized that such attempts call into question both the seriousness and the good faith of the interim government
Interestingly, the Indian media also did not identify where these sources were from: the Indian government or elsewhere.
Such reports raised a number of questions in Bangladesh, especially as Indian media has been on the frontlines of spreading disinformation against Bangladesh, an activity which heightened following the August ouster of Sheikh Hasina, who is currently hiding in India.
Only last month it was seen that 72 Indian media outlets spread 137 fake reports about Bangladesh in 2024.
A total of 148 cases were identified, averaging one misinformation report every two and a half days.
