Govt granting India corridor by allowing to set up railway tracks: Rizvi

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Wednesday alleged that the government is going to grant India a corridor by allowing it to develop a network of railway tracks through Bangladesh to connect the northeast region with the rest of India.

Speaking at a milad mahfil, he warned that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is going to invite serious danger for the nation by giving such a corridor facility to India.

"The rail tracks will enter Bangladesh from India and then connect back to India, not other countries. This is nothing but a corridor. Zhaleda Zia was vocal against this corridor," Rizvi said.

He questioned how the prime minister could grant India the corridor facility without considering the opinion of the country's people. "But India did not allow us a corridor to build connectivity with Nepal. Are you inviting calamity through imprudence, or are you bringing in a Trojan horse of the Troy city? It's now a major concern for the people."

The BNP leader likened allowing Indian trains to operate over Bangladeshi land to inviting the massive hollow wooden Trojan horse constructed by the Greeks to gain entrance into Troy for destruction during the Trojan War.

Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal organised the programme at BNP's Nayapaltan central office, seeking divine blessings for the speedy recovery of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who is currently undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital.

Rizvi alleged that Sheikh Hasina is generously granting everything to India, a country that consistently shows a hostile attitude towards the people of Bangladesh. "India is shedding our blood along the border and unilaterally diverting water from our rivers to its dry regions. Moreover, there is a significant imbalance in trade relations between the two nations."

The BNP leader also criticised India for long ignoring Bangladesh's outstanding issues. "How can you (Hasina) allow such a corridor facility for India through Bangladesh? You are pushing the country into a dangerous situation and attempting to make the entire nation subservient to India."

He said the prime minister signed various deals and MoUs with India during her recent visit disregarding the hopes and aspirations of the country's people.

Rizvi called upon the leaders and workers of BNP and its associate bodies, including the student wing, to be vocal against the deals signed with India by sacrificing Bangladesh's interests.

According to a report published by The Times of India recently, India is set to develop an alternative network of railway tracks through Bangladesh to connect its northeast with the rest of the country, reducing reliance on the existing route through the Siliguri Corridor, commonly known as "Chicken's Neck" -- a 22 km wide strip hemmed in by Nepal to the north and Bangladesh on its south.