Modi to attend Sheikh Mujib’s birth centenary programmes online

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will join the birth centenary celebrations of Bangladesh’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 17 through video conferencing.

He will send a video message on the occasion, said Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Wednesday.

India will also provide 150 ambulances to Bangladesh, he said.

The Indian foreign secretary came up with the information during an interaction over lunch at Hyderabad House which he hosted in honour of the visiting 20-member media delegation from Bangladesh.

Of the 150 ambulances, 100 would be provided marking the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujib while the rest 50 would be sent marking Bangladesh-India bilateral relations, he said.

On donation of ambulances, Shringla said this would be a gift from their prime minister Narendra Modi who would make the formal announcement.

He said these were not just the ambulances but also a system in place so that the injury victims facing trauma could access the nearby ambulance by calling a dedicated number immediately.

‘This is a people-centric idea to promote more people-to-people contact,’ the Indian foreign secretary said.

After the detection of coronavirus cases for the first time in Bangladesh, the year-long programmes taken to celebrate the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during the ‘Mujib Borsho’ have been rescheduled considering public health.

The grand inaugural ceremony of the birth centenary celebrations scheduled for March 17 next at the national parade ground has been put on hold due to the prevailing situation across the world caused by the coronavirus outbreak and it will be held later.

Other celebration programmes will also be observed avoiding massive public gatherings.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Mujibur Rahman birth centenary celebration national implementation committee at Ganobhaban on Sunday in the presence of prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana.

The Indian ministry of external affairs on Monday confirmed the deferral of prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh scheduled for March 17 following the rescheduling of the programmes.

Expressing understanding of the circumstances that necessitates this deferment, he said India was ready to work with Bangladesh, as partners, to combat the spread of this disease in their shared neighbourhood.

The impact of this deferment applies also to the large gathering planned for March 17, at which the prime minister of India was invited.

Indian prime minister Modi was scheduled to visit Bangladesh on March 17 with a bilateral component.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net