Mukherjee used his good office for Bangladesh’s benefit and counteracted negative campaigns against the country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid rich tributes to the late Indian statesman Pranab Mukherjee in the Bangladeshi Parliament. She told the Parliament that India’s former president was a true friend of Bangladesh since the country’s 1971 Liberation War. Hasina said Mukherjee used his good office for Bangladesh’s benefit and counteracted negative campaigns against the country.

The Congress leader passed away last Monday in New Delhi following a 21-day battle with multiple ailments. He was cremated on Tuesday with full state honors.

Hasina, as per a report by NDTV, recalled Mr Mukherjee’s personal support for her and her family, particularly during her life in exile in India, after the August 15, 1975 coup in Bangladesh. The putsch killed her family and Bangladesh’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with his family members and toppled his post-independence government, the report said.

The Bangladeshi PM said that during the exile, the remaining members of her family had to keep their identities secret due to security reasons. This also restricted their movements and social interactions. “In those days, it was his family alone we could develop a family relation and got the taste of the family relationship,” the report quoted Hasina.

She described the late Mukherjee as an erudite politician with vast knowledge in various fields.