Manmohan Singh remarks on sections of Bangladeshi people not judgemental: Govt

In a damage control exercise, India today said the prime minister's controversial remarks on sections of Bangladeshi people being under the influence of ISI were by "no means intended to be judgemental".

"Our attention has been drawn to some off the record remarks attributed to the prime minister during his interaction with editors in New Delhi. It is clarified in this regard that these attributed remarks were by no means intended to be judgemental," the official spokesperson in the ministry of external affairs said.

The spokesperson said the prime minister and his government and the people of India have the greatest affection for the people of Bangladesh and hold country's relations with Bangladesh to be of the highest importance.

During the interaction with the editors earlier this week, Singh had said that with "...Bangladesh, our relations are quite good. But we must reckon that at least 25 per cent of the population of Bangladesh swear by the Jamiat-ul-Islami and they are very anti-Indian, and they are in the clutches, many times, of the ISI."

The remarks were intended to be off the record but figured in the official transcript of the interaction between the prime minister and the Editors. The remarks were later deleted from the official transcript.

However, the remarks have sparked negative reactions in Bangladesh with a former foreign minister terming them "frustrating" and Jamaat-e-Islami contending that the remarks do not go with his status.

The official spokesperson also said that India recognises the stability of the democratically elected government and is committed to the non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states.

"In recent years, ties between India and Bangladesh have seen exceptional heights with close cooperation in a wide range of areas," the spokesperson noted. He said the focus on both sides has been development cooperation, poverty alleviation, capacity building and education.

 "It is in this context that the external affairs minister of India is undertaking an official visit to Bangladesh. We ware fully committed to our bilateral relationship with the people and the government of Bangladesh," he said.

External affairs minister SM Krishna is visiting Bangladesh from July 6-8 during which he is expected to raise important regional and bilateral issues with the Bangla leadership.