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No water, no transit

Khaleda slams India over one-sided affair

RAKIB HASNET Suman and DILIP Roy, from Lalmonirhat
Every deal with India, including transit, corridor and trade, has to be annulled if the neighbouring country does not ensure fair share of common river waters, said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday.
“The rivers Teesta and Padma have dried up. We also want friendship but it must be maintained in a reciprocal manner. Nothing one-sided can persist,” she said in a huge rally at Collectorate ground in the northern bordering district of Lalmonirhat.
The rally was organised as part of her series of programmes and road marches to drum up support for the restoration of caretaker government system.
Terming the government a failure, incompetent, corrupt and murderers, the leader of the opposition alleged that the killers of journalist couple Sagor and Runi had been identified but they were given the chance to flee as they were government men.
“...They [Sagor and Runi] got some crucial information about the government's misdeeds and that is why the government is dillydallying in unravelling the mystery behind the killing,” she alleged.
The BNP chief said 12,000 people including 15 journalists were killed in the last three years. “It is the responsibility of the government to ensure security for all, everywhere, not in the bedroom only.”
The BNP chairperson firmly said elections must be held under a non-party neutral government. Even Awami League would not be able to remain in power if the next general election is not held under a caretaker government.
“We will accept the EVM (electronic voting machine) system if they [govt] hold the next election timely and under a caretaker government," said Khaleda.
She said the government would be forced to quit power through peaceful agitation but they would have to pay for their misdeeds. “Your [govt] time is over. Choose your [govt] future and fulfil our demand,” said Khaleda.
Khaleda reached Lalmonirhat around 3:00pm. She left for the northern district from Bogra circuit house around 12:00pm.
Thousands of party leaders, workers and supporters attended the rally. Standing on both sides of the road people from all walks of life welcomed Khaleda as her motorcade entered the district.
A huge number of arches were erected all over her way to the rally ground while the district headquarters was decorated with coloured flags, replica of Bangladeshi heritages and culture, and portraits of late president Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda Zia andTarique Rahman.
In her 40-minute speech from 4:40pm, Khaleda blasted India on different issues and blamed the Awami League government as, what she claimed, the giving-everything-to-India policy was going against Bangladesh's interest.
“The ruling party MP and ministers will have to run away from people's wrath as they have done a lot of misdeeds in the last three years,” she said, adding that the incumbent government
could not implement even a single electoral pledge.
People are being killed every day but the government is failing to prevent it, Khaleda continued, “This government is even responsible for the destruction of BDR (formerly Bangladesh Rifles, now Border Guard Bangladesh) and the prime minister will have to reply for this.”
“They did not stop the mutiny as they wanted to destroy BDR,” she alleged.
She said the country's garments industry is in danger. Pharmaceutical companies are being sold to Indians while many textile and spinning mills had already been sold to that country as the government did not stand beside the local entrepreneurs.
Khaleda urged all to attend the March 12 rally in the capital. She also asked the ruling party not to declare any programme for that day. She said she would give an important speech and announce further programmes that day.
BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alarngir and members of the party's standing committee also addressed the rally chaired by Asadul Habib Dulu, president of Lalmonirhat district unit BNP
Khaleda left for the capital after visiting the Haratia union BNP office and exchanging greetings with local party men.