Speaker Shirin Sharmin cancels Delhi visit amid turmoil
"The date of the visit will be rescheduled"
Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has postponed her visit to New Delhi amid the turmoil over India's controversial Citizenship Amendment Law.
She was scheduled to lead a parliament delegation on Monday on an invitation of Om Birla, the speaker of India's Lok Sabha and speakers of the state assemblies or Rajya Sabha.
During her visit, the Speaker had the plan to formally invite the high ups of Indian government to attend the "Mujib Borsho" programme, organised on occasion of the birth centenary of Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
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"We have necessary duties to perform on "Mujib Borsho" event and a special parliament session on March 22 to 23. The Speaker needs to stay in the country during this period. Therefore, she cancelled the visit," Speaker's Personal Secretary MA Kamal Billah told The Business Standard.
The date of the visit will be rescheduled, he confirmed.
Earlier on December, Bangladesh's Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal had also cancelled their tours when India was seeing protests over the new Indian citizenship law and NRC.
At least 42 people were killed last week in the Hindu-Muslim violence in northeast New Delhi, amid mounting international criticism that authorities failed to protect minority Muslims.
The clashes started over a citizenship law that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government introduced in December providing a path to Indian citizenship for six religious groups from neighbouring countries, but not the Muslims.
