no meet with XI 

JP fast losing ground, says GM Quader

There is a recurrent feeling within the Jatiya Party (Ershad) that it is fast losing its political ground despite having public support. This feeling has come to the surface as Raushan Ershad, leader of the opposition in Parliament, and her party leaders, including founder HM Ershad, were denied an audience with Chinese president Xi Jinping during his Dhaka visit. “I feel China considers us politically insignificant and thinks we have no credibility,” said Jatiya Party co-chairman GM Quader.
“China came here with a portfolio of big investment and met only those who they felt were important for their business interests. They are not giving us any importance,” he added. Quader pointed out thatHM Ershad had contributed significantly to boost bilateral ties and trade with China. “The party must find out why China is ignoring us and also determine strategies for the next plan of action,” he said.
When asked about seeking an audience with the Chinese president, opposition chief whip Tajul Islam Chowdhury said, “We communicated only once with the Chinese side to seek an audience, but could not contact further as our leader Raushan Ershad fell ill.”
Meanwhile, some BNP leaders have raised questions as to how party chairperson’s special assistant Shimul Biswas was part of the Khaleda-led seven-member delegation that met the Chinese President on Friday. The leaders expressed their surprise and resentment over the matter. They expressed wonder how Biswas, who allegedly interfered with the formation of party executive committee, could sit in the front row with the delegation.
Talking to this correspondent, two BNP standing committee members, who were in the delegation, expressed their dismay.
When contacted, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said Biswas had gone there as an aide to the party chief and that he was not a delegation member.
Asked how Biswas could sit in the same row with delegation members, fakhrul said maybe there was no sitting arrangement for people other than the delegation members.
He also explained that Biswas was supposed to sit outside the meeting room. “But as a chair was vacant, he sat there,” he added.
Preferring anonymity, a senior leader of the party also decried the leadership for going beyond the protocol. The leader, who is a party vice-president, said Biswas should not have attended such a high-profile meeting with the Chinese president.
“As far as I know, the name of Shimul Biswas was not included in the delegation team. But I do not know whether his name was there as an aide to the delegation,” said standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain. Lt Gen. (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman said, “Biswas was present there as the chairperson’s personal assistant.” Another BNP leader also questioned how Biswas, who is wanted in as many as 47 cases and has 10 arrest warrants in his name, has been eluding law enforcers over the years. The BNP delegation had a 40-minute meeting with the Chinese President at Le Méridien on Friday.

no meet with XI 

JP fast losing ground, says GM Quader

There is a recurrent feeling within the Jatiya Party (Ershad) that it is fast losing its political ground despite having public support. This feeling has come to the surface as Raushan Ershad, leader of the opposition in Parliament, and her party leaders, including founder HM Ershad, were denied an audience with Chinese president Xi Jinping during his Dhaka visit. I feel China considers us politically insignificant and thinks we have no credibility, said Jatiya Party co-chairman GM Quader. China came here with a portfolio of big investment and met only those who they felt were important for their business interests. They are not giving us any importance, he added. Quader pointed out thatHM Ershad had contributed significantly to boost bilateral ties and trade with China. The party must find out why China is ignoring us and also determine strategies for the next plan of action, he said. When asked about seeking an audience with the Chinese president, opposition chief whip Tajul Islam Chowdhury said, We communicated only once with the Chinese side to seek an audience, but could not contact further as our leader Raushan Ershad fell ill. Meanwhile, some BNP leaders have raised questions as to how party chairpersons special assistant Shimul Biswas was part of the Khaleda-led seven-member delegation that met the Chinese President on Friday. The leaders expressed their surprise and resentment over the matter. They expressed wonder how Biswas, who allegedly interfered with the formation of party executive committee, could sit in the front row with the delegation. Talking to this correspondent, two BNP standing committee members, who were in the delegation, expressed their dismay. When contacted, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said Biswas had gone there as an aide to the party chief and that he was not a delegation member. Asked how Biswas could sit in the same row with delegation members, fakhrul said maybe there was no sitting arrangement for people other than the delegation members. He also explained that Biswas was supposed to sit outside the meeting room. But as a chair was vacant, he sat there, he added. Preferring anonymity, a senior leader of the party also decried the leadership for going beyond the protocol. The leader, who is a party vice-president, said Biswas should not have attended such a high-profile meeting with the Chinese president. As far as I know, the name of Shimul Biswas was not included in the delegation team. But I do not know whether his name was there as an aide to the delegation, said standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain. Lt Gen. (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman said, Biswas was present there as the chairpersons personal assistant. Another BNP leader also questioned how Biswas, who is wanted in as many as 47 cases and has 10 arrest warrants in his name, has been eluding law enforcers over the years. The BNP delegation had a 40-minute meeting with the Chinese President at Le Mridien on Friday.