India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah had no conversation with BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia over phone on Wednesday as claimed by the BNP, two private television stations and the state-run news agency BSS said yesterday.
But the BNP still maintains that the BJP leader had talks with the BNP chairperson. Khaleda’s Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan yesterday issued a press note, claiming that he was present with his party chief when the telephone conversation took place.
Ekattor TV yesterday quoted Amit Shah as saying “No, no. This is a fake news. Not any contact from our side,” in response to its query if he had phoned Khaleda.
Talking to another TV station, the BJP leader said: “This is totally a rumour.”
On Wednesday, the BNP claimed that the BJP president had called Khaleda and inquired about her health. But on Friday an online news portal claimed that the news was false as no such conversation had taken place between the two leaders. The ruling Awami League, too, ridiculed the BNP for falsehood.
The BNP, however, challenged the news and claimed that the government had been spreading misleading information.
The Dhaka Tribune also attempted several times to contact Amit Shah but could not reach him over the phone.
After the denial of the BJP chief, Maruf Kamal Khan, the press secretary to the BNP chairperson, yesterday said: “We now have nothing to add to what we said earlier. That the telephone conversation took place is 100% true.”
Maruf even claimed to have talked to those close to Amit Shah and learned that “there was no scope for the BJP chief to give any interview to the media here as he has been very busy with electoral campaigns and collecting members for the party.” When contacted, several senior leaders of the BNP refused to make any comment as they claimed to have been in the dark on the issue.