Sheikh Hasina Meets NSA Ajit Doval at Hindon Airbase; S Jaishankar Briefs PM Modi on B’desh Crisis

New Delhi: In a dramatic turn of events, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday following violent protests over a controversial government job quota system that claimed over 300 lives.

The unrest has plunged the nation into crisis.

After her resignation, Hasina arrived at Hindon Air Force Base in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad and met with India’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval. She is expected to depart for London shortly, where she may seek political asylum.

The situation in Bangladesh remains volatile. The military has assumed control, with Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announcing the formation of an interim government and calling for an end to the violence.

The Army’s intervention followed extensive clashes between protesters, police, and counter-protesters. On Sunday alone, clashes resulted in at least 100 deaths and over 1,000 injuries.

Indian authorities have responded to the crisis by heightening security along the 4,096 km border with Bangladesh. All rail and air travel between the two countries has been suspended. IndiGo has cancelled flights for the next 30 hours, and Air India has halted its daily flights to Dhaka.

The protests, which initially centred around the quota system, intensified despite a Supreme Court ruling reducing the reservation to 5%. Student leaders’ continued dissatisfaction with the government’s response fueled the demonstrations, culminating in Hasina’s resignation and the current state of emergency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been briefed on the situation by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, but there are no current plans for a meeting between PM Modi and Hasina.