BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia skips the prime minister’s invitation or cancels important schedules like meeting with the Indian president during hartals called by the party or its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami. Even she does not drive from her residence to office, both in the city’s Gulshan area, on a hartal day.
But a group of pro-BNP lawyers and other party leaders came to see her riding personal vehicles on Sunday, the first day of 84-hour hartal, when pickets were trying to force all modes of transports away from roads in Dhaka and elsewhere.
Learning the fact from her security adviser after the visitors left her Gulshan residence, Khaleda expressed her grievances and asked her security staff not to allow anyone inside, a personal aide of Khaleda told the Dhaka Tribune last night.
Visitors included pro-BNP lawyers and party leaders Joynal Abedin, Sanaullah Miah, Khorshed Mia Alam, Kaiser Kamal and Golam Mostafa.
Witnesses said chairperson’s adviser Osman Farruk also came to the party chief’s residence riding a luxurious car, but angry Khaleda refused to see him.
Opposition women MPs, who brought out a procession on the Jatiya Sangsad premises on Sunday, were seen arriving there on cars, witnesses said.
Earlier, Khaleda discussed the latest political situation with the team of lawyers in an hour-long meeting.
After the informal meeting, Khandakar Mahbub Hossain, adviser to the BNP chairperson, said Khaleda Zia was rigid on her stance of holding elections under a non-partisan government.
“She (Khaleda Zia) blamed the government for the prevailing political stalemate. BNP will not backtrack on the movement,” he said quoting Khaleda. He also said they discussed the legal aspects to get the arrested BNP leaders released.
After a meeting with the party chief, her adviser Shahjahan Omar said, “Madam [Khaleda] has instructed the party leaders and workers to enforce hartal more stringently.”
Meanwhile, prompted by reports published in a section of media that water line to Khaleda’s residence was snapped, a team of Dhaka Wasa visited the house and reportedly found the pipeline okay.