Anandabazar apologises for using word 'charity' on Bangladesh

Anandabazar Patrika, a Kolkata-based Indian Bengali daily today apologised for stating the zero-tariff bilateral agreement for 97% of exports to China as "charity" for Bangladesh.

Anandabazar newspaper, on its fourth page of Tuesday's print version, apologised by admitting its mistake.

On June 20, in a report titled "Beijing taking Dhaka to its side after Ladakh", the Anandabazar wrote, China's recent decision of providing 5,161 Bangladeshi products duty-free access after the clash with India is a "charitable" act.

In the midst of India-China military tensions, Indian media outlets have criticised China's duty-free access to Bangladesh as a "charity" which left many Bangladeshis feeling insulted.

The Indian media has claimed that China has given such a duty-free export opportunity to Bangladesh only to put pressure on India. Several Indian media including Anandabazar published news mocking Bangladesh as "charitable."

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has also said that certain sections of Indian media were "not welcome." They portrayed Bangladesh in a demeaning manner.

Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in a "violent face-off" with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in Ladakh on June 15 night, the Indian Army has said in a statement.

This is the most serious escalation at the border in five decades, at a time when soldiers of both sides were in the process of disengagement.