Indian parliament to pay tribute to former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia

The former BNP chief is one of three people whose passing is to be commemorated at the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday

The Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of parliament, is to pay tribute to former Bangladesh prime minister and late BNP chief Khaleda Zia.

According to Wednesday’s agenda, condolence motions will be moved for three people, including Khaleda, during a session commemorating the deceased.

The others are former Rajya Sabha members L Ganesan and Suresh Kalmadi.

The condolence motion will be raised immediately after the speech by Indian President Droupadi Murmu at the start of the day’s session.

Khaleda, a three-time prime minister of Bangladesh, died at Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital on Dec 30.

The following day, after a funeral in front of the National Parliament, she was buried next to her husband, former president Ziaur Rahman.

Immediately after news of Khaleda’s passing, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences in a post on X. He also presented a formal letter to her son Tarique Rahman, who is now the chairman of the BNP.

Indian Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar came to Dhaka on Dec 31 to pay tribute to Khaleda and hand over the Indian government's condolence message to Tarique.

Addressing the then BNP acting chairman as "Dear Tarique Rahman Sahib", Modi wrote that while Khaleda's passing has created an "irreplaceable void", her vision and legacy will live on.

On Jan 1, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi and paid tribute to Khaleda.

Afterwards, he wrote in the condolence book, "Her important contributions in strengthening India-Bangladesh relations will be remembered."

The Indian media has described the Modi government's proactive role in mourning and paying tribute to Khaleda amid tensions between the two countries since the 2024 July Uprising as Delhi's "strategic outreach" to the new BNP leadership.