Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday told Pranay Verma, the Indian high commissioner in the neighbouring country, that the recent protests during the quota reform movement were aimed at creating a “situation like Sri Lanka” to oust her government.

She also termed the recent violence — which killed at least 150 people as per official estimates — in the country “almost a terrorist attack”.

“It was not a movement at all, and at one stage it turned almost into a terrorist attack,” Hasina reportedly told Verma who called on her at Gonobhaban, the official residence of the Prime Minister.

Nayeemul Islam Khan, Hasina’s press secretary, briefed the media after the meeting. “Actually they had planned to create Sri Lanka type violence and oust the government,” Khan quoted Hasina as telling Verma.

After student protests in Bangladesh metamorphosed into a full-fledged rebellion against the government, a section of the media in the country had been drawing parallels with what happened in Sri Lanka two years ago. In July 2022, massive crowds overpowered police and soldiers and stormed the official residence and offices of the Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo, prompting the President to flee and the Prime Minister to resign.

Hasina tackled the crisis by imposing a nationwide curfew and deploying the armed forces on July 19. Though the protests subsided and order returned to Bangladesh after the twin measures, the calm has been fragile amid reports that the Opposition forces like the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami were plotting a fresh offensive against the government.

During the meeting with Verma, Hasina reportedly condoled the loss of lives in the protest. Verma did likewise.

Hasina explained how the situation was returning to normalcy and economic activities had begun to pick up, which Verma appreciated, according to the press secretary.

China, another Banglaladesh ally, has also welcomed the restoration of social order, Bangladeshi media reported.

The response from the West, however, has been different. The EU on Wednesday announced its decision to postpone negotiations with Bangladesh on a new cooperation pact — aimed at enhancing trade, economic and developmental relations — due to its handling of the protests.

Meanwhile, there were reports that students brought out rallies in places across the country, including Dhaka, Sylhet, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Khulna.