Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Monday criticised Indian external affairs minister’s recent statement where she lauded Awami League-led government’s anti-militant steps.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir criticised New Delhi’s view while addressing a protest rally at the Institution of Engineers’, Bangladesh, as he disapproved the recent countrywide ‘mass arrest’, in the name of anti-militant operation’.
The party’s countrywide demonstration, sans Dhaka city, protesting against the drive was observed on Saturday.
Referring to newspapers report, Fakhrul said Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj expressed her satisfaction over the Bangladesh government’s ‘correct steps’ in curbing militants.
‘The government did the correct job,’ Fakhrul quoted Sushma as saying and hoped that India would stick to democracy loving people of Bangladesh.
‘Our neighbour certainly would not pamper or cooperate with any force or government those swooped on the people of Bangladesh,’ he noted.
He said it is as true as daylight that the incumbent government is not elected and does not represent people.
He claimed that the world community did not accept the general election of 2014 and hoped that they would stand in favour of Bangladesh’s democracy and those who are struggling for it.
Fakhrul criticised the recent drive in which a total of 179 suspected militants were netted out of some 14,000 arrested.
‘Basically, the government wanted to divert people’s attention through launching such wholesale arrest as they totally failed to stop covert killings and militancy,’ the BNP leader said.
Fakhrul said the incumbent government assumed the democracy loving people as their opponent and therefore, swooped on them.
He said BNP would soon launch a movement to free the political prisoners.
He said now there is no alternative to forging unity with all the patriots and waging a democratic movement to put an end to the ‘ongoing misrule’.
He said Bangladesh could not be truly independent if there is no democracy and no rights of the citizens.
Presiding over the gathering, BNP standing committee member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy said no democratic country of the world accepted so far January 5, 2014, elections.
Goyeshwar agreed that India was a large democracy and Bangladesh’s friendship with them was crucial. ‘But if India thinks friendship with mere Awami League and Sheikh Hasina meant friendship with Bangladesh, it’s not a friendship at all then,’ he said.
BNP leaders Abdullah Al Noman, Khairul Kabir Khokon, Abul Khair Bhuiyan, Abdus Salam Azad and Kazi Abul Bashar, among others, addressed the programme.
Source: New Age
