Muhammad Yunus slammed in NE states for ‘7 Indian states landlocked’ comment: ‘Let's break Bangladesh’, ‘ungrateful’

Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh Chief Adviser, is facing storng criticism for claiming that Bangladesh is the "only guardian" of the Indian Ocean for the region, as the seven northeastern Indian states are "landlocked".

In a video that went viral, Yunus can be heard saying that "The seven states of India, the eastern part of India, are called the seven sisters. They are a landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean. Bangladesh is the guardian of the ocean for the region. This opens up a huge possibility. This could be an extension for the Chinese economy."

Yunus made these remarks during his four-day visit to China.

Provocative! Can't be take lightly, Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma slammed him saying that the statement was "offensive and strongly condemnable", noting that the region had been under ongoing security risk discourse linked to India's critical 'Chicken's Neck' corridor."

"The statement made by Md Younis of Bangladesh, the so-called interim Government referring to the seven sister states of Northeast India as landlocked and positioning Bangladesh as their guardian of ocean access, is offensive and strongly condemnable," Sarma posted on X.

"Such provocative statements by Md Younis must not be taken lightly, as they reflect deeper strategic considerations and longstanding agendas," he added.

Reacting to his comments, Tipra Motha Party (TMP) supremo Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma noted, “Rather than spending billions on innovative and challenging engineering ideas we might as well break up Bangladesh and have our own access to the sea.”

“The Chittagong hill tracts were always inhabited by indigenous tribes which always wanted to be part of india since 1947 . There are lakhs and lakhs of Tripuri , Garo ,Khasi and Chakma people which reside in Bangladesh in terrible conditions in their traditional lands . This should be utilised for our national interest and for their well being”

Ungrateful regime, Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma

Debbarma also said, “Time for India to make a route to the ocean by supporting our indigenous people who once ruled Chittagong so we are no longer dependent on an ungrateful regime. India’s biggest mistake was to let go of the port (Chittagong) in 1947 despite the hill people living there wanting to be a part of the Indian Union,” Debbarma said.

He said, “Mr Yunus may think he is the guardian of the ocean but the reality is he is a stop-gap leader at the age of almost 85. Let’s not forget Tripura is only a few miles away from the port”.

Very shocking, says former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh

Former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Veena Sikri, has also strongly condemned the statement

He told ANI, "Very shocking statement by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. He has absolutely no right to make a statement like that. He knows that the northeast is an integral part of India, and we have had very close discussions with the Government of Bangladesh on access by Northeast India to the Bay of Bengal, and there are formal agreements on this."

Sikri further warned Bangladesh that if it 'not interested' in granting connectivity rights to Northeast India, it could not expect riparian rights in return. "We must condemn the statement," she said,

"I can tell Bangladesh one thing very clearly: if they are not interested in giving connectivity rights to Northeast India, then they cannot expect any rights as a riparian. So they should know this very clearly, and they should not have any illusions about this," she added.