It was indeed a tough job to get hold of BNP leader and former state minister Salahuddin Ahmed, who has recently been made a standing committee member of the party, for an interview. On August 11, repeated attempts were made to speak to him over phone, but there was no response from him. He was, however, generous enough to reply to the correspondent’s message detailing the identity and expressing the desire to meet him. “You are always welcome… But, no interview...Thanks,” replied Salahuddin, who has been in Shillong, the capital of northeastern Indian State of Meghalaya, since May last year after he was being arrested in the capital’s Golf Links area. Having agreed with the BNP leader’s ‘term’, an appointment was fixed at 9:00 in the next morning at a guest house, little away from the Shillong city centre, where he has been staying since June, last year after a Shillong court granted him conditional bail in a case of trespassing into India. He denied the charge and claimed that he had been dropped in Shillong. Salahuddin was a BNP joint secretary general at that time. While waiting at the lobby of the luxurious guest house situated in a posh area, Salahuddin came down from upstairs at 9:00am sharp wearing white pajama and punjabi. BNP executive committee member Rafiqul Islam Hilaly, who visits Salahuddin from time to time in Shillong, was also present there.
“How are you?” he was asked.  “You tell me how a person can possibly be under this circumstance,” he replied posing a counter question. “I say one thing, media people write just the opposite. And I cannot protest against those fabricated news,” Salahuddin said explaining the reason behind declining the interview.
He, however, agreed to hold a tiny conversation with the correspondent.
The BNP leader talked about his illness, politics, agony of being away from the country and the legal procedures regarding him in Shillong.
“I have several health problems related to neck, heart and kidneys and want to go to Delhi for follow ups on these,” he said, adding that earlier he went to Delhi for treatment with the permission of the court as per the condition of his bail. He needs to take permission in order to go out Shillong.
Salauddin informed on Saturday that he went to Delhi and returned to Shillong on August 22. He said on August 12 that doctors at North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences in Shillong advised him to consult with the primary doctors who earlier treated his heart with intervention.
The treatment was done in Singapore, he added. The newly-elevated BNP standing committee member said that he never applied for going to Singapore for treatment knowing that his application might be rejected.
About the case against him, Salahuddin said that the next hearing of the case will be held on August 29 (Monday) when the court will ask him for the last time if he would plead guilty.
“I will say what I said on July 22 that I did not come to India willingly,” he said.
About politics, the former state minister said that he was aware of the politics including the restructure of the standing committee of his party.
Asked if he is happy after being inducted into the BNP standing committee, the party’s highest policymaking body, he posed a counter question, “Is it a matter to be unhappy?”
“The BNP council has empowered the chairperson to select the members of the standing committee and national executive committee, and she selected those who she felt qualified,” he added.
The BNP leader alleged that the ruling government is not allowing BNP to do politics and it should not be the case.
“Whatever party we belong to we should always remain Bangladeshis,” he noted.
To another question, Salahuddin expressed willingness to return home even if it does mean facing oppression.
“I just want to return home,” he said apparently in gloomy voice.
“I don’t go out that much. I don’t feel like,” he replied to a question as he was seeing the correspondent off at the door.