The mornings are no longer freezing and the skies are no longer foggy. The winter is long gone, which became more evident on Wednesday when BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi carried his shawl in his arms to the front gate of the party’s Naya Paltan office. He threw the garment on the floor, terming it an Indian product.
This is how the party extended its support to an ongoing virtual movement to boycott Indian products.
This came just two days after another front-ranking leader of the party, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, had urged neighboring India to support the BNP’s battle to reestablish democracy in the country.
What is actually happening in the BNP? What is the BNP's stand on the boycott of the Indian product movement? Even at the Standing Committee meeting of the party, there has been no discussion on the issue.
However, Rizvi made a new announcement on Wednesday. He expressed solidarity with the boycott movement, which he said was on behalf of 63 like-minded parties. Of them, some major parties and alliances did not officially take any decision in this regard.
While talking to this reporter, leaders of the International Affairs committee of the BNP said that the case of India's unilateral bias in favor of the ruling Awami League was noticed by the party top brass before the January 7 elections. Only after that, Rizvi has started speaking on the matter and he is doing so with the direct blessings of the party's top leadership.
Rizvi has commented several times about India, especially after the grand rally in Dhaka on October 28, 2023. After that, on November 26, December 1, December 22, December 24 and December 26, he blamed India for the political crisis in the country.
He said India was supporting farcical polls in Bangladesh.
Sources in the BNP said that most of the members of the Standing Committee of the party are in favor of maintaining a tolerant and cooperative foreign policy. In this case, the top leaders of the party want to move ahead politically without creating any direct opposition with India.
However, at least four members of the Standing Committee, including acting chairman Tarique Rahman, feel that India is directly responsible for keeping the Awami League in the last three tenures, including January 7. And in return, India is extracting various benefits from Bangladesh. For this reason, some leaders of the party, including the top leadership, think that India should be directly held responsible for the results of the January 7 polls.
This reporter spoke to at least a dozen central influential leaders and officials of the BNP on the India issue. Most of them said the party stance on the issue should be clear. In particular, when a senior member of the Standing Committee sought India's cooperation, then how can another spokesperson officially express dissent against India two days later? Through this, a rift in the party has come to light.
A student leader said Wednesday’s announcement came out of the blue. Rizvi suddenly called everyone downstairs, threw his shawl to the ground. Then he went up to his office chamber. He said it was not an organized program. Rizvi suddenly called everyone and they obliged. But it is true that no one knows what the party's policy is in this regard.
Several important members of the Standing Committee do not know about it either. One of the members of the party told this reporter that these were not discussed in the Standing Committee. He said commenting on this subject will be sensitive as well and said he wants to refrain from commenting.
Barrister Nawshad Zamir, international affairs secretary of the party, said: "I think there is no room for disagreement about the BNP's international-diplomatic policy. Tarique Rahman has clearly said repeatedly that Bangladesh is friendly towards all. The BNP and Bangladesh are equal friends of all countries. The BNP is against anything that goes against the interests of the country. Now, if someone is cooperating with this government to disrupt the country's democracy, it is certainly not very easy or normal for the BNP to consider him as a friend.”
He added: “The Awami League is in power in one way or the other for one reason. That is, the Awami League has completely destroyed the election process in the country. And the judiciary and some states, whom only the Awami League considers as friends, have played an all-out role in this destruction process. The people of Bangladesh do not consider them friends.”
However, before the 12th national elections held on January 7, there was an urge from within the party to improve relations with India. In 2022, several leaders of the BNP held private conversations with the then Indian high commissioner to Dhaka, Vikram Kumar Doraiswamy.
Following this, India's current High Commissioner Pranay Verma invited five BNP leaders to his residence. After that, ahead of the elections, at least two members of the BNP standing committee went to Delhi and interacted with various circles there.
In the first week of June 2018, BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Vice Chairman Abdul Awal Mintu and BNP International Affairs Secretary Humayun Kabir, visited India. They met members from India's ruling BJP, opposition Congress and three NGOs of that country. They also met some political and economic analysts during the visit.
None from the BNP Standing Committee agreed to be quoted on this new stance of the party.
A member of the Standing Committee commented on the incident of Rizvi throwing away his shawl, asking why would Rizvi wear the Indian shawl in the first place. The second issue is that policy conflicts are normal in a large party, this leader added.
Agreeing with Moyeen Khan’s statement, this leader said if the BNP has to come to power then it has to maintain good ties with all the countries.
Another member of the Standing Committee said that the extreme anti-India stance also raises suspicions. Some of the party leaders may have been active in implementing a third party’s agenda, he said.
Amir Khasru, chairman of the BNP's international affairs committee, refused to comment on the matter.
A leader of the Ganatantra Mancha, an ally of the BNP, finds no consistency in the policymaking of the BNP. He said that at one moment the BNP will show affection towards India and the next it will shy away.
Leaders of 63 like-minded parties know nothing about it
At a press conference at Naya Paltan yesterday, Rizvi said: "People are joining the 'Bharat Hatao' movement spontaneously. The unarmed people have only one vow now—they will not buy the products of India, with their hard-earned money. It is not a political program, but a spontaneous movement of the disenfranchised people of Bangladesh.”
Later, Rizvi expressed solidarity with the movement on behalf of 63 political parties and said: “Boycotting Indian products means boycotting the autocratic AL government. Because the AL is an Indian product. Therefore, 63 pro-democracy parties including the BNP is expressing solidarity with this movement.”
Although the members of the BNP Standing Committee are not aware of this solidarity. Some political parties and major alliances including the Ganatantra Mancha are also not informed.
One of the leaders of the Ganatantra Mancha, Saiful Haque, said: "There was no formal discussion on this, no decision was made. Campaigns on social media may have moral support. There is anger against India's rulers for the way India has stood against the will of the people in three national elections and supported fascist governments. Product boycott is a symbolic protest. It has social significance.”
The Left Democratic Alliance is one of the 63 parties that boycotted the January 7 elections. Ruhin Hossain Prince, coordinator of the alliance, said: "I heard this from you for the first time. The left Democratic Alliance and the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) are doing politics differently from that of the BNP and the Awami League. There is no chance to agree with the BNP on any point.”
Prince, who is also the general secretary of the CPB, said: "Now, if the BNP spoke on behalf of any of the 63 parties that boycotted the polls—then it has committed a crime.”
However, the two factions of the Gono Odikhar, the 12-party alliance, the Labour Party have held programs on boycotting Indian products.
On February 16, the BNP protested the killing of Bangladeshis on the Bangladesh-India border and arranged prayers in different mosques.
