Prime Minister`s Policy and Strategy Affairs Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman has said that he returned home from Delhi airport without entering India protesting of being kept waiting for two hours.

He made the remarks on Tuesday at a press briefing at the conference room of the Information Department at the Secretariat.

However, the adviser also said that the incident will not affect relations between the two neighbouring countries.

``Bangladesh wants a rational relationship with India. But the government will not establish any relationship at the expense of the country`s self-respect.``

While responding to journalists, Dr Zahed said that he did not travel as a private individual but as a representative of the government. Therefore, he felt it was necessary to register an immediate protest over what had happened to him at the airport.

He had travelled to Delhi to attend a two-day meeting of senior officials of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), which began on Monday.