New Delhi: Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s proposed visit to India still remains uncertain after a Rashtrapati Bhavan press release on Friday (August 21) briefly indicated that preparations were underway for his ceremonial welcome, before being withdrawn. Rahman is not visiting India this weekend, though a later date has not been ruled out.Asked at the Ministry of External Affairs’ weekly briefing whether Rahman would come to India, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal merely replied on Friday afternoon, “I am not going to say anything right now. If I get any update, I will let you know.”Rahman’s press secretary told Reuters Friday that Dhaka has not made a decision on his visit yet.The confusion was triggered after Rashtrapati Bhavan issued a press release after 2 pm saying that the Change of Guard ceremony scheduled for Saturday, August 22, would not take place because of a “full rehearsal for the ceremonial welcome of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh”. The release was subsequently taken down, with the Rashtrapati Bhavan issuing a separate note stating that the August 21 press release “stands withdrawn”.The episode came against the backdrop of conflicting signals from Dhaka and New Delhi over the proposed visit.The invite to RahmanIndia first invited Rahman for a bilateral visit shortly after he took over as Bangladesh prime minister in February. New Delhi later issued a separate invitation to him, as chairman of BIMSTEC, for the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13.On August 16, Bangladesh foreign ministry had issued a statement that while the two sides had been in touch for deciding Rahman’s visit, the process for arranging the visit had been “vitiated” by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s August 5 press interaction in New Delhi. Bangladesh had added an appropriate or “propitious” environment would need to be created before Rahman travelled to India.Dhaka, however, did not rule out the visit completely. Rahman’s press secretary Saleh Shibli said the government had not said that the prime minister was not going to India and was awaiting New Delhi’s response to the concerns it had raised, especially on the requests for extradition of Hasina.Prior to the August 5 event, Bangladesh had objected to it, warning that it could undermine bilateral relations. India had distanced itself from the event, saying it had been organised by a private media entity and that the government had no involvement.After Dhaka expressed outrage over the event, India had also said it did not endorse remarks made by speakers against Bangladesh’s “duly constituted government”.For Rahman’s government, the visit carries considerable domestic political sensitivity amid growing anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh and criticism from political groups that Dhaka should secure greater assurances or concessions from New Delhi before a high-level engagement.A.A.M. Saleh, Rahman’s press secretary, said Friday that Dhaka is awaiting India’s response on the extradition of Hasina and “other fugitive criminals”. “No decision has yet been made on the visit,” he told Reuters.India, meanwhile, has continued to push for an early meeting between Rahman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, preferably before the BRICS summit. Indian high commissioner Dinesh Trivedi said on August 18 that Modi had told him, “We need to meet”, and had asked him to convey to Rahman that he would receive an “honourable reception” in India. Trivedi also said Modi wanted Rahman’s visit to be “memorable”.The need for a meetThe Wire reported on August 19, citing multiple sources including Bangladeshi officials and foreign diplomats, that the visit could take place in the last week of August or first week of September if no major issue arose.The proposed visit has remained under discussion because both sides have an interest in a high-level meeting to arrest the deterioration in bilateral relations and address outstanding issues.These include the renewal of the 1996 Ganga Water Sharing Treaty, which expires in December after 30 years, as well as trade restrictions, energy supplies, border-related concerns and wider political and security issues.On Thursday, Sanjay Kumar Jha, working president of the Janata Dal (United), a BJP ally, argued in an op-ed in the Times of India that India should allow the treaty to lapse rather than renew it in its present form.Asked about Jha’s remarks at Friday’s briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal did not comment directly on the proposal to let the treaty lapse. He instead noted that the Ganga Water Treaty was signed in 1996 for 30 years and said that all river-related issues between India and Bangladesh were discussed under the Joint Rivers Commission.“Further, meetings of the Joint Committee under the Ganga Water Treaty continue to be held at the technical level,” he added.