UNB, Dhaka :
As part of its fresh bid to persuade the Narendra Modi administration to mount pressure on the Awami League-led government to hold a fresh inclusive election, BNP is now planning to send a delegation to India after Eid-ul-Azha.
BNP senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman is also likely to send a BNP delegation from London to India to this end, party sources told UNB wishing anonymity.
An 11-member high-profile BNP delegation, led by Dr Moyeen Khan, is now in China on a 10-day visit to persuade the influential leaders of the ruling Communist Party of China so that the East Asian country becomes vocal like the western ones and press the Sheikh Hasina administration to engage in talks for a fresh inclusive election.
The delegation members, including three BNP standing committee members went to China on Wednesday.
A BNP team, meanwhile, at a meeting with India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson MJ Akbar recently said they want to give the government five to six months more to reach a consensus through talks for holding a fresh election to resolve the ongoing political crisis, a party leader present at the meeting told the news agency preferring not to be named.
Contacted, BNP international affairs secretary Asaduzzaman Ripon said they are enhancing bilateral ties with major political parties of different democratic countries, including Indian BJP and Congress and China’s Communist Party.
“We’re a major party of Bangladesh which was in power for several terms. We’re improving our party’s contacts and reinforcing ties with the main political parties of different countries as we’re also trying to return to power,” he said.
Sought his comment about some media reports that BNP is highly depending on foreign countries instead of waging a movement mobilising the country’s people to push for a fresh election, Ripon said this is a negative campaign and they believe the people of Bangladesh will compel the government to resolve the ongoing ‘standoff’.
He, however, said as development partners, the forging countries and international bodies can put pressure on the current ‘illegal and undemocratic’ government to restore democracy and establish a government with people’s mandate through fresh polls.
A BNP leader close to party chairperson Khaleda Zia said BNP is now giving importance to woo China and India, the two major powers in the region, to force the current regime to hold the election by February or March.
BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has already sent out his party’s message to Indian government through MJ Akbar at a meeting held at the Gulshan residence of a senior BNP leader on September 2.
Apart from Fakhrul, BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas, chairperson’s advisers Dr Osman Farroque and Abdul Awal Mintoo were present at the unscheduled meeting.
About the meeting with MJ Akbar, a BNP leader who was present at the meeting said they had a courtesy call with the Indian ruling party spokesman. “He (Akbar) wanted to know from us about the country’s overall situation. We’ve informed him the country’s latest political situation and our party’s stance.”
He said MJ Akabr spoke less and heard much from them.
The Indian journalist-turned politician inquired many things from the BNP delegation. At one stage, he wanted to know what BNP wants to do now, the BNP leader said.
