Focus being shifted to various issues to hide anti-state deal with India: Rizvi
He also alleged that Sheikh Hasina has betrayed the three million martyrs and 200,000 mothers and sisters who lost their honour in the war of independence by agreeing to allow a railway through Bangladesh
BNP's Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has alleged that focusing on issues like goat, Aziz and Benzir's corruption and using helicopters to arrest criminals are aimed at diverting attention from an anti-state agreement with India.
"India will build a railway through Bangladesh to bypass the Chicken's Neck, without the consent of the people. Watching this silently would dishonour the blood of the martyrs of 1971," he stated at a press conference at the party's central office in Nayapaltan on Friday.
He also alleged that Sheikh Hasina has betrayed the three million martyrs and 200,000 mothers and sisters who lost their honour in the war of independence by agreeing to allow a railway through Bangladesh.
The senior BNP leader further said, "The senior BNP leader claimed that India legitimised Sheikh Hasina through the one-sided election on 7 January. In return, he alleged, Sheikh Hasina does not hesitate to sacrifice Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty to fulfil India's interests."
Rizvi stated that the deal that allowed India to carry civilian and military goods through the country would intensify the plight of Bangladeshis, especially when border killings are rampant, joint rivers are drying up, and the trade deficit is widening.
As a result, Bangladesh will not be able to rely on its own strength to protect itself from foreign powers, he said.
Citing a recent statement from Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, Rizvi said, "Quader mentioned that those who oppose India are going in the wrong direction. This implies that if someone sets up establishments inside Bangladesh, endangering our sovereignty, opposing it would be seen as the wrong move."
However, Rizvi also believes that the people of Bangladesh will ultimately overcome all obstacles and will not allow anyone to turn the country into a subservient state.