No visible achievement from PM’s India visit: Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday said there was no "visible achievement" of Bangladesh, except the Kushiyara River water sharing MoU, from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s four-day visit to India.

"In this visit, the achievement of Bangladesh so far that we can see is 53 cusecs of water from the Kushiyara River. We have not seen any other visible achievement" he said.

Stating that a defense contract worth $500 million has been signed to buy military vehicles from India, the BNP leader said it has been assured that border killings will be brought to zero level. “On the day this was said, one person was killed at the Dinajpur border and two others remained missing. This’s the outcome (of her visit).”

He was talking to reporters after paying homage to BNP founder Ziaur Rahman by placing a wreath at his grave alongwith the leaders and activists of Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal, marking its 44th founding anniversary, reports UNB.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday night returned home wrapping her four-day official visit to India.

Read: Let’s see what she achieves this time, Fakhrul about PM’s India tour

During her visit, Hasina had bilateral talks with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and met Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Indian Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar separately on Tuesday.

After the bilateral talks between the two leaders, Dhaka and Delhi signed seven MoUs -- demonstrating cooperation in a number of areas, including water sharing of the Kushiyara River.

Fakhrul said though there was no fruitful outcome from the visit, the ruling party leaders are highlighting their love for India.

“The government has become desperate (to stay in power). You must remember that before this visit, the Foreign Minister (AK Abdul Momen) had said that he had requested the Indian leaders to take measures to keep the Awami League government in power by any means possible," he observed.

The BNP leader said their party believes that all the democratic countries will play their role in upholding democracy and establishing people's rights around the world.

“India is our good friend and a democratic country. We believe that India will also keep its democratic character intact," he said. Unleashing the reign of terror by govt

Fakhrul slammed the government for attacking their party’s peaceful programmes across the country and implicating their leaders and activists in ‘false’ and ‘fictitious’ cases.

“False cases were filed against many of our leaders and workers over the last few weeks. Fictitious cases are also being filed against us as they did in the past. You know that already three of our leaders have been killed,” he said.

Referring to his Thursday’s visit to Popular Hospital to see Shrabon, a 14-year-old bullet-hit leader of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal’s Kishireganj unit, the BNP leader said, the boy’s lung, liver and kidney were affected by bullets. “He is vomiting blood…doctors are trying their best to save his life.”

Besides, he said, many leaders and workers of BNP and its associate bodies have lost their eyesight while many others have sustained various injuries and became maimed. “They (govt) have again unleashed a reign of terror all over the country. I would like to say no one can hang onto power by resorting to terror acts.”

Reacting to the law minister’s comment that BNP’s programmes will not be obstructed if it does not resort to violence, Fakhrul said, "BNP does not believe in terrorism and engage in terror acts…the cadres of Chhatra League and Jubo League have attacked peaceful programmes of democracy-loving people. We strongly condemn it. We’ll defeat them with the power of the people.”