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- Ram Madhav lauds PM's efforts in upholding democracy
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Secretary General Ram Madhav on Friday extended his party's "wholehearted" support to the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as he appreciated Hasina's untiring efforts in upholding democracy in Bangladesh. "The way Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is trying to uphold democracy and the constitution and protecting the democratic institutions in the country is simply a laudable effort...we as a big neighour support her hard work in this regard," he said. Ram Madhav was addressing the opening ceremony of a dialogue on Bangladesh-India Relations at a local hotel yesterday evening. Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali joined the functions as the chief guest jointly organized by Friends of Bangladesh, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and India Foundation, Delhi. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque, Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Harsha Bardhan Shringla, Vice President of Friends of Bangladesh (India Chapter) Satyam Roy Chowdhury and coordinator of Friends of Bangladesh ASM Shamsul Arefin also spoke on the occasion. Madhav, one of the top BJP leaders, said democratic freedom does not mean burning buses and public property. Democracy means freedom but their freedom is not absolute rather their freedom is a freedom within the framework of their constitution. He said freedom does not give us license to say that we'll destroy the constitutional system... we'll destroy the democracy. It does not give us permission to burn buses, burn public property and engage in violence. "Peace is an 'absolute necessity' to protect democracy and the constitution," he said adding both Bangladesh and India have very 'well-drafted' constitutions and we need to protect and uphold the constitution. Talking about Bangladesh-India relations that now reached a newer height based on trust and mutual understanding, Madhav said the relation is important for India also as India is a big country and big democracy and Bangladesh has a huge population. After four decades, he said that he had realised that India is a big country but not a big brother of Bangladesh. "Our development story should be complementary...we are very good neighbours...we enjoy our relationship," he added. The BJP leader said India's friendship with Bangladesh is natural as geography, language, history and cultural bonds unite both the countries. Describing Bangladesh and India as partners in 'progress, peace and partners in prosperity, he said the idea of neighbourhood is not rivalry but partnership. Quoting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Madhav said - India, Bangladesh not just 'Pass Pass' but 'Saath Saath'. "Our growth and development stories should be complimentary. We should grow together and we should work together." Describing Bangladesh as a very 'special beloved neighbour', he said both Bangladesh and India has a relationship which is growing fast. "It's a great connecting factor - in all ways - sports, culture and politics." In this connection, he said both the countries enjoy the game of cricket and mentioned that playing with Bangladesh is a great joy, not war. "We look forward to see a good game on Sunday." On trade issues, the BJP leader said they take every care to make sure that 'no injustice' is ever done against Bangladesh. Madhav also talked about energy sector cooperation and signing of Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with great appreciation. He said they are happy that under the leaderships of two Prime Ministers - Hasina and Modi - they have been able to make significant progress in various areas. Indian High Commissioner in his written statement said the year 2015, in many ways, was a watershed year in Bangladesh-India bilateral relations. "Both our countries have decided to attach the highest priority to keeping the strong momentum in our bilateral relations going." The diplomat said the bilateral cooperation between the two countries is based on a 'win-win' formula for both the countries based on a mutuality of interests. Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Ministry Dr Dipu Moni, MJ Akbar, MP, former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Seekri, Director of India Foundation Alok Bansal and Swapan Dasgupta were also present, among others. Source: BSS.
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