DHAKA, Sept 7: Bangladesh Foreign Minister Morshed Khan on Tuesday brushed aside an Indian allegation about insurgent hideouts inside his country and criticized the Indian media for "instigating their government to intervene in the internal affairs of Bangladesh".

Denying fresh allegations last week by two Indian ministers - Home Minister Shivraj Pateel and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee- of the alleged presence of Indian insurgents in Bangladesh, he said that New Delhi bothered least about giving attention to Dhaka's repeated requests for taking measures against criminals and separatists sheltered in India.

"If the blame game continues, no talk will take place. It will not bring any positive result to any country," Mr Khan said inaugurating the two-day Bangladesh-India dialogue for young journalists in Dhaka.

He was also critical of the Indian government's attitude to the Aug 21 attack on the opposition Awami League rally. He regretted that the Indian Prime Minister made an immediate telephone call to the AL leader Sheikh Hasina, ignoring the diplomatic nicety of calling Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

He said it would create a perception about India's enthusiasm for maintaining special relations with a particular party. Indian High Commissioner Veena Sikri, while addressing the opening ceremony, claimed Bangladesh was a water surplus country and its problem lay not in water scarcity, but with water resources management.

"Whether these pertain to river water sharing, dredging or desiltation or construction of link canals, let us approach these problem together with goodwill and trust, determined to evolve win-win solutions based on mutual benefit," she said in her speech.

Reacting to the observation, Mr Khan said Bangladesh had received more water from cross-border rivers than India had during the monsoon, which caused a flood. "We would be happy to get our due share of water, not more, at the right time. It is now unilaterally managed by the upper riparian country," he added.

"We have the illusion of a win-win situation whereas we see a win-lose situation," he said, referring to Bangladesh's increasing trade deficit with India following Dhaka's trade liberalization since the early 1990s without "reciprocity" from New Delhi.

Mr Khan raised the issues of India's unwillingness to provide market access to Bangladeshi goods, para-tariff and non-tariff barriers, and described them as "non-tariff co-operation".