BNP wants planned deals disclosed before PM’s Delhi visit

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) yesterday called upon the government to disclose, before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leaves for New Delhi, all the agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to be signed with India during her four-day visit. “We hope that the government will make public all the agreements and MoUs that could be signed during the Premier’s ensuing India visit before she leaves for New Delhi…The people will not accept the signing of any agreement or MoU that undermined the country’s sovereignty, security, public interests, or were anti-state,” said BNP secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Speaking at a press conference at the BNP central office in Naya Paltan, he claimed the party had learnt that the government might sign an agreement or MoU with India on defence during the Prime Minister’s visit, but the country’s people were in the dark about its contents.
The BNP leader said people had a right to know about the issues of national importance like defence, but the foreign ministry had not held any briefing on the matter and that even the “unelected” Parliament had not discussed the proposed agreement or MoU.
“Almost all democratic countries including India have the norms of holding consultations with major political parties and all concerned before signing important agreements or MoUs, but the Bangladesh government is yet to inform the people,” he rued. Alamgir also questioned the logic behind signing an agreement or MoU with India on defence, when the government claimed the bilateral relations between the two countries were now warm.
Asked whether the BNP would write to the Modi government against signing any agreement or MoU, he said such a step could not be taken, as they were unaware of the government’s stand and the contents of the proposed agreement or MoU. Replying to a question on whether the BNP would launch any movement, if the government signed a defence agreement or MoU with India, he said their next course of action would be decided at a party forum after the signing. The BNP leader said there were several outstanding issues with India, including a fair share of the waters of the common rivers, border trade, and commerce.
“The killing of Bangladeshi people by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) has not stopped, the sharing of waters of 54 common rivers including the Teesta is not complete, and we are yet to achieve our just rights in accordance with the Ganges agreement,” he said, adding that despite the Ganges agreement being signed in 1996, Bangladesh was yet to get its due share of water in the lean season.
Alamgir also said that Bangladesh had taken several positive steps in India’s interest but the Bangladeshi business community was complaining of tariff and non-tariff barriers, to which no solution had been found so far.
Referring to newspaper reports, he said, under the proposed defence agreement or MoU, Bangladesh would be given Tk. 500 million by India, with which Bangladesh would have to buy arms from India. He questioned the logic behind such purchases, when Bangladesh’s armed forces were already equipped with modern Chinese weapons. Alamgir said the BNP wanted to see the bilateral relations with India become firmer, friendlier, and more confident, based on mutual respect for equality, dignity and sovereignty. “We will never allow the use of Bangladesh’s soil for any anti-India activities. We also expect that India will be respectful of our integrity, independence, and sovereignty,” he said.
He further said the BNP’s policy was to take a stand against fundamentalism, terrorism, and all types of international and regional terrorism. BNP leaders Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Tariqul Islam, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, among others, were present on the occasion.

BNP wants planned deals disclosed before PMs Delhi visit

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) yesterday called upon the government to disclose, before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leaves for New Delhi, all the agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to be signed with India during her four-day visit. We hope that the government will make public all the agreements and MoUs that could be signed during the Premiers ensuing India visit before she leaves for New DelhiThe people will not accept the signing of any agreement or MoU that undermined the countrys sovereignty, security, public interests, or were anti-state, said BNP secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Speaking at a press conference at the BNP central office in Naya Paltan, he claimed the party had learnt that the government might sign an agreement or MoU with India on defence during the Prime Ministers visit, but the countrys people were in the dark about its contents. The BNP leader said people had a right to know about the issues of national importance like defence, but the foreign ministry had not held any briefing on the matter and that even the unelected Parliament had not discussed the proposed agreement or MoU. Almost all democratic countries including India have the norms of holding consultations with major political parties and all concerned before signing important agreements or MoUs, but the Bangladesh government is yet to inform the people, he rued. Alamgir also questioned the logic behind signing an agreement or MoU with India on defence, when the government claimed the bilateral relations between the two countries were now warm. Asked whether the BNP would write to the Modi government against signing any agreement or MoU, he said such a step could not be taken, as they were unaware of the governments stand and the contents of the proposed agreement or MoU. Replying to a question on whether the BNP would launch any movement, if the government signed a defence agreement or MoU with India, he said their next course of action would be decided at a party forum after the signing. The BNP leader said there were several outstanding issues with India, including a fair share of the waters of the common rivers, border trade, and commerce. The killing of Bangladeshi people by Indias Border Security Force (BSF) has not stopped, the sharing of waters of 54 common rivers including the Teesta is not complete, and we are yet to achieve our just rights in accordance with the Ganges agreement, he said, adding that despite the Ganges agreement being signed in 1996, Bangladesh was yet to get its due share of water in the lean season. Alamgir also said that Bangladesh had taken several positive steps in Indias interest but the Bangladeshi business community was complaining of tariff and non-tariff barriers, to which no solution had been found so far. Referring to newspaper reports, he said, under the proposed defence agreement or MoU, Bangladesh would be given Tk. 500 million by India, with which Bangladesh would have to buy arms from India. He questioned the logic behind such purchases, when Bangladeshs armed forces were already equipped with modern Chinese weapons. Alamgir said the BNP wanted to see the bilateral relations with India become firmer, friendlier, and more confident, based on mutual respect for equality, dignity and sovereignty. We will never allow the use of Bangladeshs soil for any anti-India activities. We also expect that India will be respectful of our integrity, independence, and sovereignty, he said. He further said the BNPs policy was to take a stand against fundamentalism, terrorism, and all types of international and regional terrorism. BNP leaders Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Tariqul Islam, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, among others, were present on the occasion.