Indian lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to return former Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh during a campaign speech this week, sharply criticizing the government for what he described as political inconsistency in its messaging on migration.
Owaisi, a five-time member of Parliament representing Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha, made the remarks while speaking to supporters. In his comments, he referenced political rhetoric in Maharashtra and Mumbai and called on the government to send Hasina back to Bangladesh.
“They are telling the people of Maharashtra and Mumbai, ‘Look, we sent one Bangladeshi back.’ Hey, send one more person back, the one who is sitting in Delhi like Modi’s sister,” Owaisi said. “Do you want her to be given back to Bangladesh?”
Owaisi’s supporters roared back in ascent.
Hasina was ousted during the 2024 Monsoon Revolution in Bangladesh and later convicted in cases related to the shooting of protesters, according to Bangladeshi authorities. She has remained in India since her removal. The Bangladeshi government has repeatedly asked India to return her, though Modi’s government has not commented publicly on her status.
In his speech, Owaisi also addressed communal violence, drawing comparisons between killings in Bangladesh and in India.
“If a Hindu dies in Bangladesh, we condemn it and call the killers oppressors. Those who killed Suleiman Pathan in Jalgaon are also oppressors; they should also be condemned,” he said. “Whether it is Bangladesh or India, a human life is a human life.”
Indian officials have not responded to Owaisi’s remarks, and there has been no official update on Hasina’s situation in India.
“Modi, listen, this voice is coming. Take her, remove her, and send her back to Bangladesh,” said Owaisi.