The Dhaka Metropolitan Police has said that legal action will be taken against those who hold rallies against Narendra Modi ahead of the Indian prime minister’s visit to Bangladesh, reported Dhaka Tribune.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Acting Commissioner Monirul Islam had on Sunday also urged political parties not to hold any programmes in the country’s capital between March 17 and 26 to prevent any traffic congestion. “If any political party fails to comply with the request, we will consider them as traitors,” Islam said.

Various world leaders, including Modi, will be visiting Bangladesh to observe the birth centenary of the country’s first Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence.

Rahman’s birthday is celebrated on March 17, while the country’s Independence day falls on March 26. Bangladesh began its 10-day celebration on Wednesday in which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid tribute to Rahman.

Modi will go to Bangladesh on a two-day visit on March 26 to participate in the celebrations, The Hindu reported. This is his first foreign trip since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The prime minister will also offer prayers at Orakandhi’s Matua temple, which is sacred to the Matua community of West Bengal.

Modi is the guest of honour during the National Day programme on March 26, said India’s Ministry of External Affairs. The Indian prime minister will also deliver a speech at the programme, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said. The prime minister will hold talks with Sheikh Hasina and meet President Mohammed Abdul Hamid.

India and Bangladesh are also likely to sign three MoUs (memorandum of understanding) during Modi’s visit, said Momen. Foreign Secretary Masud bin Momen said the MoUs were likely to be signed in the field of disaster management and cooperation between some institutions of the two countries. “We are still working on every MoUs,” he said. “We will get the final scenario regarding the MoUs within one or two days.”

On Wednesday, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih arrived in Dhaka on a three-day visit. He was the chief guest at the inaugural celebrations. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will arrive in Dhaka on a two-day tour on Friday.

Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari will visit on March 22 and Bhutan’s Premier Lotay Tshering will arrive on March 24.

Foreign Minister Momen said Chinese President Xi Jinping, Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and other world leaders and international organisations would send video messages on the occasion.