BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has reportedly complained about the state of democracy in Bangladesh while meeting visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The 40-minute meeting started at around 10:25am on Friday at Hotel Sonargaon. Party’s Standing Committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan and Vice Chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury briefed reporters on the meeting. The party described the meeting as “successful”. Khan said, “The issue of lack of democracy in the country came up in the meeting. “This so-called Parliament does not reflect the people’s will.” The BNP and its allies had boycotted the recent national polls demanding a non-party government’s supervision. It ensured a predictable landslide for the ruling Awami League-led alliance. Since then, the BNP has been dubbing the incumbent government an “unelected and undemocratic” one. Khan said regional development would be hampered in the absence of democracy in Bangladesh. “We believe development is impossible without democracy and, therefore, it must be restored,” Khan said. Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury said Khaleda congratulated the new Narendra Modi-led government. The BNP chief said the people of Bangladesh wanted to build a good relationship with India. Swaraj told Khaleda that the new Indian government wanted to emphasise people-to-people relationship instead of favouring any particular political party or a government in Bangladesh. The BNP hoped that India-Bangladesh bilateral ties would be strengthened and the contentious issues between the neighbouring countries would be solved through discussions. Swaraj said the new Indian government was trying to build a consensus in the nation to resolve the issues. Khaleda and Swaraj also had a 12-minute-long private meeting. Details of it have not been divulged. Khaleda had met Swaraj once in 2012 during her Delhi visit. Swaraj was then the opposition leader in India’s Lok Sabha. She was given charge of the foreign ministry after the BJP government assumed office last month. It is her first visit to Bangladesh as the External Affairs Minister. Regional development Shamsher Mobin said South Asia’s regional development found a special emphasis at the meeting. “The new Indian government has prioritised the matter,” he said. Khaleda told Swaraj that the BNP initiated the formation of SAARC and lauded Modi’s initiatives to strengthen the regional cooperation organisation. “We have more interest in the matter. We want to make it stronger,” Mobin quoted the BNP chief as telling Swaraj. The Indian foreign minister said they were giving much importance to the issue. Khaleda said, “The people of Bangladesh want to work together in the Indian prime minister’s initiative to strengthen SAARC. “We hope the regional issues will be solved through mutual partnership.” — bdnews24.com
