India to send BJP leader Dinesh Trivedi as next envoy to Bangladesh: Report
If the appointment is confirmed, it will be a clear signal from the Modi government that it is not averse to sending political leaders as India’s envoys to key countries.
The Indian government has decided to send senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Dinesh Trivedi as the next high commissioner to Bangladesh, Hindustan Times reported today (19 April).
As a first political appointee in the neighbourhood after a long time, BJP leader Trivedi, if his posting is confirmed, will replace career diplomat Pranay Verma, who will move to Brussels as the Indian ambassador to the European Union.
Trivedi was a Union Minister for Railways and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare during the UPA regime as a member of the Trinamool Congress. He resigned from the Trinamool in 2021 and joined the BJP.
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When contacted, however, a joint secretary-rank official of MEA told The Business Standard, "We would not like to say anything on this at this stage. We have a certain procedure of announcing such appointments and we will do that in due course."
The likely appointment of Trivedi is seen as a clear signal from the Modi government that it is not averse to sending political leaders as India's envoys to key countries, and these much sought-after postings are not merely a preserve of Indian Foreign Service officers, according to the report.
While agreement will be sought from the Tarique Rahman government in Dhaka for Trivedi, the decision to send a 75-year-old politician as India's envoy to Bangladesh is also a message of accountability to the Ministry of External Affairs' diplomats, the report said.
Though there has not been an official confirmation of the appointment until the filing of this report, Amit Malviya, in-charge of BJP's National Information and Technology Department and co-incharge West Bengal congratulated Dinesh Trivedi.
"Congratulations to Sri Dinesh Trivedi, senior BJP leader, former Union Minister and Barrackpore MP, for being appointed as India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh," Amit Malviya wrote in a post on X.
Prior to Trivedi's name hitting the media, the names of three other political leaders – Arif Mohd Khan, former Congress leader, journalist MJ Akbar and Shishir Bajoria, who is fluent in Bangla – had been speculated as possible high commissioners to Bangladesh.
The name of career diplomat Sandip Chakrabarty, India's former deputy high commissioner to Bangladesh, had also figured as a contender. He is now posted as India's ambassador to Indonesia.
