'Burn your wife's saris before…': Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina counters Opposition calls for ‘India boycott’

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued a sharp rebuttal on Monday amid calls for a boycott of neighbouring India. The senior politician recently secured a fourth consecutive term at the helm following elections that were boycotted by most major Opposition parties. Numerous influencers and critics however accuse the Narendra Modi-led government of actively backing the ruling coalition for its own interests. 

“My question is, how many Indian sarees do their wives have? And why are they not taking the sarees from their wives and setting them on fire? Please ask BNP leaders…Garam masala, onions, garlic, ginger, all spices that come (from India) should not be seen in their (BNP leaders') homes,” reports quoted the Awami League president as saying.

Opposition leaders claim that at least 25,000 people were taken into custody ahead of the elections in January. The Awami League and its allies now control almost every seat in parliament.

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The Bangladeshi leader claimed that BNP ministers and their wives would indulge in shopping trips to India while in power.  The remarks came in the wake of senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi threw his Kashmiri shawl on the road in symbolic protest against Indian products.

The India Out campaign first began on social media — led by exiled Bangladeshi physician Pinaki Bhattacharya — after the election results. His followers claim that the movement is fuelled by the Indian government's unilateral support for the Sheikh Hasina-led administration. The campaign has been running three primary hashtags: #Indiaout #BoycottIndia and #BoycottIndianproducts.

“A closer examination of this trend reveals that the group that began this campaign has always been engaged in anti-India activities in Bangladesh. Several users among them, are either indirectly associated with the political parties of Bangladesh (mainly BNP), or claim to be their supporters,” explained a recent report by the Digital Forensics and Research and Analytics Centre.

(With inputs from agencies)