“How are you, brother?” asked Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader as he momentarily put aside the political differences and exchanged pleasantries with his BNP counterpart Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
The two bumped into each other at the Syedpur Airport on Sunday.
Quader was more magnanimous as he waited for Fakhrul at the airport in Dhaka when the former heard that the BNP secretary general was supposed to catch the same plane of the US-Bangla Airlines to fly to Lalmonirhat.
But the BNP leader changed his mind and took a Novoair flight to Lalmonirhat.
A member of Quader entourage, Biplab Barua, told bdnews24.com, “The Awami League general secretary waited for some time at Dhaka airport for the BNP leader.”
Quader visited the Hindu families who were victims of arson attacks in Rangpur while Fakhrul attended a party meeting in Lalmonirhat.
The two leaders, however, met at the airport in the afternoon on their way back to Dhaka.
Mirza Fakhrul was waiting at the domestic lounge at the airport when Obidul Quader came through the VIP lounge and approached Fakhrul. He asked, “How are you, brother?”
“I am fine, how are you, brother?” a smiling Fakhrul replied.
The two leaders shook hands and spoke for about two minutes, mostly exchanging pleasantries.
“Ok, I got to go; the flight is ready,” said Quader while leaving.
“Thank you, bye” said Fakhrul.
Fakhrul left for Dhaka around 10 minutes after Quader had left.
This was the first such face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since Quader became general secretary of the ruling party in October last year.
On arrival in Dhaka, Fakhrul described to the media about his meeting with Quader as “exchanging pleasantries, nothing more”.
Awami League Deputy Office Secretary Barua told bdnews24.com that Quader told the BNP leader, “We may have different political paths but we can meet out of courtesy. I was waiting for you (at the airport).”
Fakhrul reportedly told Quader that “you behaved like a perfect gentleman”.
Source: Bdnews24.
