New Delhi: A day after Bangladesh warned that Sheikh Hasina’s planned public address from Indian territory could undermine bilateral ties, New Delhi on Tuesday (August 4) said the event was being organised by a private entity and that the government neither had any involvement in it nor endorsed any views that may be expressed at the forum, even as it has previously maintained that political activity against another country would not be permitted from Indian soil.Responding to a question at the bi-weekly media briefing, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the interaction “is being organised by a private media entity” and that “the government has no involvement whatsoever in it”.“Neither does it endorse any views that may be expressed at the forum,” he said.Jaiswal’s comments came a day after Bangladesh said it had conveyed its concerns directly to India during a meeting between Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s adviser on foreign affairs, Humayun Kabir, and India’s high commissioner in Dhaka, Dinesh Trivedi.According to Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, Kabir told the Indian envoy that Dhaka expected India’s cooperation in ensuring that Hasina, as well as members of banned organisations, are not allowed to use Indian territory to deliver political speeches or undertake activities aimed at creating instability in Bangladesh. The ministry said such activities could undermine the recent improvement in bilateral ties.India’s response on Tuesday stopped short of indicating that the programme would be prevented from taking place. Instead, the government drew a distinction between the event’s private organisers and the Indian state, while adding that it did not endorse anything said at the forum.The formulation leaves unanswered how New Delhi’s position squares with its previously stated policy that Hasina would not be permitted to undertake political activity from Indian soil.Last week, the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs disclosed testimony by foreign secretary Vikram Misri that India had given refuge to Hasina on humanitarian grounds but had not provided her “with a political platform or any political space to undertake political activity from Indian territory”. The committee itself observed that India had adhered to the principle that “no political activity should be directed against another country from its soil”.Tuesday’s remarks did not clarify whether the government considers participation in a privately organised event to fall outside that principle, or whether it regards any political statements made there as the responsibility of the organisers and speakers rather than the Indian state.Asked separately whether Hasina’s possible return to Bangladesh had figured in discussions between Trivedi and Bangladeshi leaders during Monday’s meetings in Dhaka, Jaiswal declined to comment, saying only that he had “no comment” to offer on the matter.At the same briefing, however, he publicly confirmed that Rahman has been invited to attend the outreach session of the BRICS summit in New Delhi in his capacity as the current chair of BIMSTEC.Jaiswal noted that Rahman had received a bilateral invitation to visit India after assuming office in February this year, but said the invitation to the BRICS summit had been extended separately in his capacity as BIMSTEC chair. He added that inviting heads of regional organisations to the outreach session was standard BRICS practice.The confirmation is notable because Bangladesh had announced last month that Rahman had been invited to the summit, potentially paving the way for his first bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. New Delhi, however, had until now refrained from publicly confirming the invitation despite repeated questions at the ministry’s weekly briefings.The controversy over Hasina’s planned appearance comes as India and Bangladesh have sought to improve ties following the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s return to power earlier this year.Dhaka has repeatedly maintained that Hasina, who has been living in India since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024 following the student-led uprising that ended her 15-year rule, should not be permitted to conduct political activities from Indian territory.Bangladesh has also sought her extradition, a request that the Indian government has said remains under examination in accordance with applicable law and established procedures.The programme, organised by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi, is scheduled for August 5 to mark two years since Hasina’s departure from Bangladesh.A publicity poster for the press conference says the former prime minister will address the international media virtually to announce her homecoming and outline her vision for Bangladesh. Other listed participants include her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, former parliamentarian and cricketer Shakib Al Hasan, and former diplomat Aminul Hoque Polash.The Awami League organisers have said the event will proceed as scheduled, with Hasina expected to join via audio link.The scheduled address will be Hasina’s second live interaction organised by the same journalists’ body this year. In January, she addressed a virtual media interaction from India, using the occasion to denounce the interim administration headed by Muhammad Yunus as a “murderous fascist” regime and call for a United Nations investigation into the circumstances surrounding her removal from office.