BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is considering not celebrating her 71st birthday on Aug 15 this year, which coincides with the National Mourning Day marking the assassination of the Father of the Nation.
Party sources are saying the former prime minister has decided forgo her usual ritual of cutting a cake on the first hour because people are suffering and starving in floods across Bangladesh.
Over the past two decades, Khaleda has been celebrating her birthday on Aug 15 – the National Mourning Day – which has drawn bitter criticism from some quarters, particularly the ruling Awami League.
There is also a controversy around whether this is her actual birth date.