BNP's Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Monday said that India is relentlessly spreading lies day and night to damage Bangladesh's image.
He said: "Numerous Muslim and Christian leaders are being arrested in India, but Bangladesh does not concern itself with this issue. However, when the interim government of Bangladesh arrests former International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari for anti-state activities, neighboring India creates a commotion over it. India’s media is continuously spreading falsehoods about Bangladesh."
He made these remarks while distributing financial assistance to the families of martyrs and injured individuals from Manikganj district at the Rupsar area of Shibpur, Manikganj.
The victims were killed during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
In his keynote speech, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said: “After the downfall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, India suddenly turned hostile towards Bangladesh. The people of Bangladesh choose their own government, but India does not like that. They think that if they stop exporting onions, garlic, and ginger, the people of Bangladesh will starve. They believe that Bangladesh cannot produce such goods on its own.”
Rizvi added: “India might think that if they cut off these supplies, Bangladesh won’t be able to import them from any other country. This is a completely misguided notion.”
He further said: “When you dig a hole for others, you eventually end up falling into it. This is proven by Sheikh Hasina. She imprisoned Begum Khaleda Zia without any crime. Under pressure from the student movement, in 2000, Sheikh Hasina fled to India after the deaths of students. She thought that her patron, the Indian government, would protect her, but they could not.
“We must remain grateful to those who were martyred and injured in the student movement against discrimination. We should establish memorials and rename roads in their honor. BNP is a party of the people. When we form a government through the people’s vote, we will ensure they receive the respect they deserve,” he added.