Lord Alexander Carlile, a British peer leading the legal battle of former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia, on July 12 accused India of succumbing to pressure from Dhaka, after he was deported from the airport in Delhi .
Speaking at a press interaction held through teleconference, Lord Carlile claimed that he had a valid Indian visa to speak about the alleged excesses being committed by the government of Sheikh Hasina.
“I obtained a business visa for my trip. India has not explained why I was denied entry ,” he said in response to questions.
He maintained that Bangladesh had exerted pressure on India to prevent his entry into Delhi where he would have informed the media about the difficulties faced by Khaleda Zia. “India acted slavishly by succumbing to pressure from the government of Bangladesh,” he said.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) however, said the lawyer did not have valid visa for holding a press conference in Delhi.
“Does a business visa constitute coming here and addressing a press conference? What kind of business is this (press conference)? He was denied visa because there was discrepancy in his visa application about what he intended to do here,” said Official Spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar.
“We informed him in advance that his visa was not valid. So he came with a return boarding pass for a flight that was to leave after two hours,” said the MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar raising questions about Lord Carlile’s intention behind the trip.
Despite MEA’s clarifications, questions are being asked within the government about how Lord Carlile landed in India despite warnings sent out by the Indian High Commission in Dhaka as well as directly from the Sheikh Hasina government.
After a delegation of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) visited think tanks in Delhi in June, PM Hasina’s political advisor H.T. Imam had come to India with a strong message, calling on India to “expel” all members of the BNP in the country. Officials said it was also surprising that despite the visa revocation, Lord Carlile was able to board Air India flight AI 162 from London to Delhi.
Sources from the U.K. however indicated that the issue may figure in bilateral discussions with New Delhi. “Immigration issues are a matter for India. We will be following up with the Government of India to understand why this decision was made,” said an official source from the U.K..
