Former Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pankaj Saran has said that no country in the world should talk about how the elections should be held in Bangladesh or elsewhere.
"I don't think anyone has the right or no one has been given the mandate in today's world to issue judgments on the election process," he said, replying to a question at an event in Dhaka on Monday.
Bhorer Kagoj newspaper organized the journalist Zahur Hossain Chowdhury Memorial lecture with Pankaj Saran and former Bangladsh High Commissioner in New Delhi Tariq A Karim. Editor Shaymal Dutta moderated the talk.
Both the diplomats talked about how the Bangladesh-India relationship became role model for others.
With January 7 general elections in sight, the United States issued visa policy to ensure free and fair elections, while India said it is an internal matter of Bangladesh.
Pankaj Saran, who was high commissioner in Dhaka from March 2012 to December 2015, and later also served as the deputy national security adviser of India, said this election issue used to come up when they were discussing Afghanistan.
"And those people who taught us democracy would always talk about democracy in Afghanistan or free elections in Afghanistan. India would say, look, we are a democracy. We are not exporting our democracy," he said, without naming any country.
"We recognize that every country has its own method, its own system," he said.
"You have your election the best way that you can. You have your institutions, you have your media, you have everything. Do the best that you can, believe in yourselves, and accept whatever results that come up....," he said.
"I don't think it's for any country, including India, to talk about how elections should be conducted, either in Bangladesh or in India or in Afghanistan or in any other country. It is a decision to be taken by the people.
"Otherwise, what is the meaning and concept of independence and of being a sovereign nation.
"So I would say it's for the people to decide who they elected," Pankaj Saran said.
"It is for the institutions to decide how the election is held, and we will wish you the best in this endeavor.
"The only thing we hope is that the process goes through as for the wishes of the people, that it is peaceful, it does not lead to instability, and that is all," he said.