Friendship, not slavery
Khaleda on ties with
other countries
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday said that the government should not allow any country to use transit facilities free of cost. She said sacrificing own interest at the cost of helping others cant be termed as friendship rather it should be dubbed as slavery. Friendship is good. But what is the point in sacrificing own interests? Nobody wants such type of friendship. Friendship is based on equality, otherwise it becomes nothing but slavery, the BNP chief said while addressing a view exchange meeting with Mymensingh unit of Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum at her Gulshan office.
Such a comment from Khaleda comes a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Bangladesh. However, in her statement, she did not mention the name of India even for once. Even the people in the country need to pay toll to cross Jamuna Bridge (Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge) but heavy vehicles from another country will use our roads without paying anything. This is the cost of friendship, she said. She further said that there is no problem in letting the vehicles of any other country pass through the country. But they have to pay for that, said Khaleda.
The BNP chairperson also said that by constructing coal-based power plant at Rampal, the government is putting the existence of the Sundarbans at stake. The power plant should be constructed elsewhere, she opined. She also criticised the recent government circular of announcing some 19 benefits to the family of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the public exchequer. This indicates that the country is under a monarch now, she claimed.
