Begum Khaleda Zia has accused the Awami League government of selling out Bangladeshi’s interests in favor of security and India’s regional ascendancy. Insisting that she has not taken a stand against India, per se, she nevertheless claimed that Sheikh Hasina had given away Bangladesh;s national sovereignty during her state visit to India.
The Daily Star reports that in a written statement that she read out during a press conference at her Gulshan office she reared:
“The prime minister could not bring anything. She returned from Delhi with an empty hand…She gave all the things to India.
“Whatever happened in this tour has gone in India’s favour and against the interest of Bangladesh. The prime minister’s India visit was not only a failure but also a harmful event for the country,” Khaleda said.
Asked how she had concluded that anything in the agreements might be harmful to Bangladeshi sovereinty and security given that she had not read the content of the agreements, Begum Zia claimed:
“It can be understood easily if you go through the joint communiqué.”
Moreover, “The 50-point joint declaration proved that the prime minister has sold the country’s interests. She unilaterally gave her consent to allow India to use the seaports, road, rail and waterways and assurance about supporting India’s bid for permanent membership in the Security Council. She also gave the nod for building the Tipaimukh dam and providing permanent transit facilities to India.”
Further, “A country of 15 crore people cannot be run only by renting out roads and ports. Our industrial sector will lose competitiveness if India gets port and transit facilities,”
Nevertheless, Begum Zia argued: “We are not anti-India. We are opposing the policy of making everything favourable to India and India-oriented. That is why we are rejecting the joint communiqué and people have to be united against it.”
That Bangladesh is making favorable deals with India that will disproportionally hurt is not obvious by simply reading off the joint communique. The communique does suggest that India is investing heavily in Bangladesh and that Bangladesh will stand to reap the rewards of that investment. This is a mutually advantageous move, one that will benefit both parties through time. Any argument that one party or another will be disproportionally advantaged depends on contingent facts that have yet to materialize. Begun Zia stands on rickety ground if she thinks that any such argument is less than sheer demagoguery.
The Awami League has yet to forcefully counter these claims, so as of this writing, an Awami League standing committee member has claimed that Khaleda Zia is not thinking about her country’s interests.
Her argument, or screed, is stronger yet. “People of the country are worried about the outcome of the prime minister’s India trip. The government has left no option [for us] but to forge a movement to protect our national interest, security, and independence and sovereignty,”
“I am urging all to participate in the struggle to save the country and the people and build a national unity” Begum Zia rang out. Notably, she failed to provide details about how she would go about arranging such a broadly convened national dialogue.
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