Khaleda Warns Govt Against Entering Into Secret Deal

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 5:19 pm

Khaleda Warns Govt Against Entering Into Secret Deal, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia Tuesday urged the government to arrange debates on issues of national interest in parliament instead of entering into any secret deal.

“We’ll extend cooperation in making the parliament effective,” she said with a note of warning that they would wedge mass movement if any decision is taken harming the national interest or against the interest of the people.

Addressing the BNP’s 5th National Council in the premises of Bangabandhu International Conference Center, Khaleda said: “We never ever entered into any deal compromising on the interests of the people and the State. We’ll build up mass resistance if others initiate any move to sign a deal against the interest of the nation.”

She said the government’s “go alone” policies on important issues like the killing of army officers, demarcation of maritime boundary, leasing out offshore oil and gas blocks, construction of India’s Tipaimukh dam, giving corridor to India in the guise of Asian Highway and withdrawal of army from the Chittagong Hill Tracts have created doubts among the people.

The former prime minister said the present government keeps mum despite killing of Bangladeshi people along the border. On the other hand, ministers’ statements favoring Tipaimukh dam and giving corridor to India have made the people scared.

Launching blistering attack on the government’s failure to act on its election pledges as well as its hostile behaviour with the opposition, she said people neither feel secure at home or outside, and anger and frustration prevails among them.

“Today, people are saying openly that the government could not change the day but aggravated their sufferings by changing the day-time… the government has become desperate not for digital Bangladesh but for precarious (talmatal) state.”

Khaleda said the ruling party did not tolerate BNP in the current parliament from day one. The party in power attacked BNP in indecent and unparliamentary language, captured front seats of the opposition in the House, blacked out oath-taking ceremony of BNP MPs and her speech in the parliament.

The opposition leader in parliament said the orders of the day were not supplied to her residence and innumerable notices of the opposition MPs on important issues were ignored, which debarred the opposition to make the parliament effective.

“A question is now raised by all as to how far a parliament can be effective where there is no opportunity to speak about the people and the country.”

She alleged that the treasury bench has made the parliament ineffective and consequently, the ruling party MPs also lost interest in attending the parliament session.

In her nearly one and half-hour’s opening statement, the BNP chief urged the government to “give the deserved privilege to the opposition, allow them to speak out for the people and discard the tactics of unwarranted false allegations, false cases, harassment and repression.”

Announcing a 19-point program to bring about qualitative change in BNP, Khaleda said misrule has been imposed afresh on the nation and the BNP will have to be prepared for a tough movement.

The 19-point program include strengthening the democratic institutions; establishing rule of law; strongly dealing with corruption, terrorism and injustice; turning population to human resources for employment at home and abroad; and training skilled manpower by initiating programs in modern technology and IT sector.

The programs also envisage utilization of every inch of land to attain self-sufficiency in food, re-excavation of canals, incentives for local industries, spreading education among rural people, and micro-credit for setting small and medium industries.

Khaleda said thousands of Indians and Sri Lanans are working in Bangladesh on employment visa and drawing salary in foreign currency. Steps would have to be taken so that Bangladesh citizens can get similar opportunity in those countries.

“Our journey may be a longer one, but don’t lose your heart. We must reach our destination,” she said, adding that BNP has turned around overcoming the 1/11, jail-repression and farcical election.

The BNP chairperson painted a pen-picture of arrest and torture of politicians and businessmen by the military-backed caretaker government as well as its cruelty on her and her two sons and the conspiracy to split BNP.

Khaleda Zia, whose party suffered a serious debacle in the last parliamentary election, questioned the role of the trio-election commission, special courts and Dr Fakhruddin’s caretaker government.

She said BNP was defeated through a stage-managed election, results of which were abnormal, unexpected and unbelievable. But her party accepted the election as “we believe an elected government is better than an unelected and unaccountable regime.” The former Prime Minister said some army officers’ actions in the post-1/11 period were controversial but there is no scope to consider those as actions of the entire armed forces.

Khaleda said what is needed now is solidarity and patriotism, keeping national interest above everything else and discarding injustice, greed, corruption, temptation for power and weak-kneed policy. She said BNP will be able to combat enemies of democracy, communalism, militancy and terrorism, and can make the highest sacrifice for the interest of the country.

Khaleda Warns Govt Against Entering Into Secret Deal

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