Daijiworld Media Network

New Delhi, Jul 2: The government of India on Friday July 2 retracted on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's off-the-record comments over Bangladesh that about 25 percent of its people were linked to Jamiat-e-Islami which had ties with Pakistan's ISI.

A statement issued by the government stated that the PM's remarks were not intended to be judgemental, and that "The prime minister and his government and the people of India have the greatest affection for the people of Bangladesh."

The PM had last week said during an interaction with editors, "At least 25 per cent of the population of Bangladesh swear by the Jamiat-e-Islami and they are very anti-Indian, and they are in the clutches, many times, of the ISI."

The remarks were later deleted from the transcript of the interaction between the PM and the editors.

The statement also added, "In recent years, ties between India and Bangladesh have seen exceptional heights with close cooperation in a wide range of areas. It is in this context that the external affairs minister of India is undertaking an official visit to Bangladesh."

External affairs minister SM Krishna will be on a visit to Bangladesh from July 6-8.