Teesta deal should be first priority
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday said any other deal with India would be “meaningless” if the Teesta water sharing treaty is not signed during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to India, scheduled for April 7-10.
"The prime minister will have to resolve the outstanding problems with India, mainly water-related ones, to make her India tour a success. The Teesta deal should get the first priority," he said.
Fakhrul was talking to reporters after placing wreaths at BNP founder Ziaur Rahman's grave in the capital's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar to mark the founding anniversary of Zia Parishad.
He also said people would not accept any deal if it is inked "sacrificing the country's interests and independence".
The BNP leader said people had long been expecting that the Awami League government would ensure the due share of water of the Teesta and other common rivers through signing deals with India.
He also claimed that the AL government could not properly hold negotiations with India over the Teesta deal as it was giving priority to the protection of the neighbouring country's interests, sacrificing Bangladesh's ones.
Referring to the PM's recent remarks that the BNP had come to power in 2001 with the help of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's external intelligence agency, Fakhrul said, "It is totally baseless, untrue and a fabricated statement."
"Is the prime minister trying to prove by her comment that Bangladesh's election is held with the help of India's RAW and America?" he said.
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