India wanted to keep Bangla military out of politics

Dhaka, Dec 20 (PTI) India was concerned over the
political turmoil in Bangladesh ahead of the 2008 election, as
it feared that crisis could be used as a "pretext" by the
military to step in and take control, according to a secret US
diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.
Cables released by the whistle-blower website show
that a top Indian foreign ministry official had suggested to
the US and the UK that the three powers ask the interim
government in Bangladesh to hold "credible" elections and
insist that army "remain out of politics".
Mohan Kumar, the then Joint Secretary in Ministry of
External Affairs during a meeting with political counsellors
at US embassy in New Delhi Ted Osius and his British
counterpart PolCouns Alex Hall-Hall, said that they agree on a
"core message" to the Bangladeshi caretaker government that
"it remains on a path toward credible elections but clarifies
that the military needs to remain out of politics."
Kumar said "the recent decision by the caretaker
government in Bangladesh to allow Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda
Zia to return had put that country at a crossroads."
"The government had gone back on its strategy to
remove the two women from the political scene...the government
will (now) reassert itself by pushing the election schedule
forward, or by digging in its heels and seeking to remain in
power longer," the secret cable quoted Kumar as saying.
"Kumar presented a third option, that either the
military or one of the women would stir up civil unrest, which
could then be used as a pretext by the military to step in and
take political control," the cable dated April 27, 2007 said.
Caretaker government in Bangladesh was formed with
Fakhruddin Ahmed as its Chief Adviser after tenure of the
government under Prime Minister Khaleda Zia ended in October
2006.