US lobbying allegations against BNP baseless, fabricated: Khandaker Mosharraf

BNP standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain today said that the allegations of lobbying in the US against the party are baseless and fabricated.

He said this while speaking to reporters at Chandrima Udyan this morning. Leaders and activists of BNP and affiliated organisations paid tribute to BNP founder Ziaur Rahman on his 86th birthday.

On January 17, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam told the parliament that there was evidence of how much money BNP-Jamaat had given to lobbying firms in the United States to campaign against Bangladesh in the past five years. He went on to say that he had at least 10 related documents.

The minister also said that the amount of this money was about $3.75 million.

"We decided to send the documents to Bangladesh Bank to inquire if the money spent by BNP on lobbying is legal and declared to the Election Commission. The bank and the EC will act accordingly after the inquiry," the minister said.

"The allegations are baseless and fabricated," Khandaker Mosharraf said when asked about it.

"These words come up when sanctions are imposed by America against an organisation and high-ranking officials, when Bangladesh is unable to participate in a democratic summit. Our question is, why wasn't this mentioned before?" he said.

"Awami League is destroying democracy in this country, violating human rights, and stealing and looting the country's money. They've hired lobbyists to hide their trail. The government is currently using such forged and fabricated documents to mislead the public. At a press conference, I will give our complete response," he added.