Staff Correspondent

BNP senior leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday slammed India for pushing its citizens into Bangladesh and criticised the interim government for remaining silent, accusing it of following Sheikh Hasina's policy.

“India is pushing its people through borders, including today’s Satkhira, Kurigram, Khagrachari and Moulvibazar. This is a great injustice being done by the neighbouring country,” he said while addressing a rally.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Buddhist Forum organised the programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club, marking Buddha Purnima, the biggest religious festival of the Buddhist community.

Rizvi, the BNP Senior Joint Secretary General, voiced concern that the government is not lodging a strong protest against the unfair move by India.

“The interim government has not said a single word about this. Where is Khoda Bakhsh, where is the Home Affairs Adviser’s Office and where is the government? Why is the government not taking any action in this regard?” he said.

The BNP leader questioned whether the interim government is making Bangladesh a weak nation, a country that was liberated through the sacrifice of 30 lakh lives and where 1,500 youth and children laid down their lives for the cause of democracy.

“In that country, a neighbour is pushing its people through various borders as they wish, and you are silent and not making a sound. You are doing what Sheikh Hasina has done,” he said.

During her rule, Rizvi said Sheikh Hasina would not have said a word if people were killed along the border.

“But this interim government, which has been supported by all democratic political parties in the country, remains silent. How dare they push their people into our country through the border? I strongly condemn and protest it,” he said.

Rizvi also criticised the interim government for its silence over holding a free and fair election as per the desire of people.

He said the interim government was formed with high expectations from the people following the fall and fleeing of Sheikh Hasina in the face of a mass upsurge.

“They (the government) have talked about reforms, and the people have accepted those reforms, urging the government to hold a free and fair election by carrying out reforms within a specific timeframe. BNP has said so, many others have said so, and even various cultural organisations have said this. But the government is silent and unresponsive on this issue. But why? What is their purpose? Now people are gradually suspecting various things.”

Rizvi raised questions over the recent departure of a former president who is facing murder charges.

“How did he manage to leave the country? Could he have done so without clearance from intelligence agencies like DGFI and NSI? He is someone who should be prosecuted for harming the environment of Bangladesh, as he built a massive road through a haor in Kishoreganj just to reach his home, destroying the ecosystem,” he said.

He said the former president was a representative of fascism and operated under the same mindset as Sheikh Hasina. “Both shared the same authoritarian mentality—there’s no difference between them. So how did this person leave the country? He held a red (diplomatic) passport—was the government unaware of that? Why wasn’t the passport revoked? Didn’t NSI and DGFI know about it? Then how did he manage to leave?”