Fakhrul questions Modi's Bangladesh visit

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday questioned whether Indian premier Narendra Modi's Bangladesh visit is to merely celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the country's Independence or run campaign for the upcoming West Bengal polls.

"Whether the Indian Prime Minister is coming here to celebrate the Golden Jubilee or to run a campaign for the West Bengal election? We see that kind of indication (election campaign) in the West Bengal, Indian, and Bangladeshi newspapers," he said.

"Basically the goal of Modi's this visit is to go to those tamples where his followers are. The votes they have in West Bengal, he is trying for these, the newspapers are saying so," he said.

Mirza Fakhrul said this in reply to a question from the journalists at a hospital where he came to meet injured BNP joint secretary general Habib Un Nabi Khan Sohel this afternoon.

The BNP leader alleged that the government is celebrating the 50 years of the Independence without participation of common people and political parties but with only foreign guests.

He said, "Government has stopped our programmes showing the reasons of the foreign guests' visit. It has created a complete restriction to the people's movement."

"We must welcome the foreign friends in our Golden Jubilee. But it is unfortunate that the government is observing it excluding mass people. There is no place of the freedom fighters, and even of the political parties," he added.

KH/SU