There are nearly 19,000 Indian nationals in the neighbouring country, of which, around 9,000 are students, the minister told Parliament.
The situation in Bangladesh is still evolving and the Indian government is in touch with Indian citizens in the neighbouring country, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday.
Jaishankar was speaking in Parliament a day after Sheikh Hasina resigned as Bangladesh’s prime minister and fled to India amid widespread anti-government protests.
Hasina left the country along with her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana, after the student-led protests against a controversial quota scheme for government jobs, which started in July, evolved into a broader agitation against her administration.
On Monday, Bangladeshi Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman said that an interim government will be formed in the country.
However, soon after, media reports said that Hindu homes and business establishments were attacked by mobs in at least 27 districts of Bangladesh. Hindu houses and businesses were also looted in some places, according to The Daily Star.
Speaking about the situation in the neighbouring country, Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that concern about the recent “violence and instability there is shared across the political spectrum”.
He also said that Hasina requested approval to come “for the moment” to India at a very short notice on Monday.
“We simultaneously received a request for flight clearance from Bangladesh authorities,” said the minister.
