Delhi shouldn’t meddle in Bangladesh’s internal matters: Rizvi

Alleging that India is publicly supporting "autocracy" in Bangladesh, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi today (22 December) called on the neighbouring country not to "meddle in Bangladesh's internal matters".

Speaking at a virtual press conference in the afternoon, he said the people of Bangladesh are worried about "Delhi's overt influence in the upcoming national polls".

"Meetings on Bangladesh elections are being held in Delhi. Bangladeshi citizens are being stripped off their rights to decide their fate. The 180 million people of the country want Delhi to be a sincere neighbour," he said.

Calling on the neighbouring country, the BNP leader said, "Don't pry into our internal affairs. Withdraw your support for strangulating the people's voting rights."

Alleging that Indian diplomats are publicly speaking in support of the upcoming "dummy election", Rizvi said, "They are supporting this election that the BNP and majority of political parties have boycotted. Delhi is saying that they want stability in Bangladesh. That means, they have outcasted democracy."

The senior BNP leader also alleged that the government is planning to "stage sabotage and militancy as part of its strategy to stay in power by confusing the democratic world".

He said, "We have come to know that a certain deputy inspector general of police has been tasked with staging a militancy drama. A few activists of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have been picked up for this purpose. They could be used to stage that militancy drama."

Rizvi went on to allege, "Before the 2014 and 2018 elections, they [government] staged militancy drama to fulfil their interest as per the neighbouring country's plan. They may implement the same blueprint in the run-up to the 7 January election."

He called on the Western democratic countries not to believe in any "drama staged by the Awami League".

"Speak up about one-sided dummy elections and come forward to establish democracy and human rights, which the people of this country desperately want," Rizvi urged the Western countries.