Govt ‘lacks capacity’ to bargain with India: BNP

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday said Bangladesh’s long-pending problems with India could not be resolved as the current government has no bargaining capacity.

“We don’t want to talk against India as we’ve no conflict with that country. The main problem is that now we have such a government in power that has no capacity to talk to India about our problems,” he said.

Speaking at a seminar, Fakhrul further said, “The government has no bargaining capacity to address the problems with India as it always depends on the country to hang on to power. This is the reality.”

Association of Engineers, Bangladesh arranged the programme on the possible adverse impacts on the country due to the Feni River water withdrawal deal with India at a city hotel.

Fakhrul said people have to realise that the longer this government stays in power, the more Bangladesh’s interests will be harmed, and its resources will get depleted.

Stating that Feni River is Bangladesh’s river, not a common one, he said the government is allowing India to withdraw its water.

“The prime minister said how she can deny if anyone seeks water for drinking. That’s fine. But she didn’t say anything about the sufferings of our lakhs of people whose crops and livelihoods are getting destroyed for lack of water from the Teesta River.”

The BNP leader said India has long been refusing to give Bangladesh water from the Teesta while the issue of ensuring the fair share of water of other common rivers also remains unresolved.

Fakhrul said the government did not yet place in parliament the deals the prime minister recently signed with India.

“There was no discussion on the deals in parliament. As per our constitution, any deal signed with another country must be placed in parliament and ratified. But the government never did it,” Fakhrul alleged.