Rizvi questions how Hasina's presser was allowed without Indian govt approval

Prime Minister's Political Adviser and BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has questioned how ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina was allowed to speak at an event in Delhi "without permission" from the Indian government.

He said the Indian authorities have claimed that the organisation that hosted the event, the Foreign Correspondent Club of South Asia, is independent and the government had nothing to do with the matter. Rizvi, however, questioned whether an international organisation could hold any kind of event in Delhi without government permission.

Rizvi made the remarks at a discussion organised by the Dhaka University Sada Dol and the University Teachers' Association of Bangladesh at the Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Building of Dhaka University today (8 August), marking the second anniversary of the 2024 July Uprising.

Rizvi said an international organisation had recently arranged an event in Delhi where a "fugitive fascist" was given an opportunity to speak.

The BNP protested the incident, and the Bangladesh government also lodged a protest, he said.

"Can an international organisation hold any kind of event in Delhi without the government's permission? A fugitive fascist will speak there, and the government will say, 'We have nothing to do with it - is this acceptable?" Rizvi asked.

"We think this could be part of a political calculation. The prime minister is talking about the Teesta Master Plan. He has visited China, and there is discussion about a China-Myanmar-Bangladesh corridor. Is that why Hasina was used as a card?" Rizvi said.

Rizvi recalled that during Sheikh Hasina's tenure, Lord Carlile travelled from London to represent BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in her legal cases. However, he was not allowed to enter Bangladesh, he said.

He also claimed that when Lord Carlile wanted to travel to Delhi and hold a press conference, he was not allowed to do so.

"If the government had the authority to intervene in the activities of a foreign individual or organisation at that time, why is it now being said that the government has nothing to do with arranging a speech by a fugitive fascist in Delhi?" Rizvi asked.

Speaking about foreign policy, Rizvi said the BNP had always maintained that Bangladesh has friends abroad, but there is no question of accepting the dominance of any country.

"From the standpoint of our foreign policy, we will maintain friendship, but we will not accept the dominance of any country," he said.

Rizvi said neither BNP former chairperson Khaleda Zia nor BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman had ever said that Bangladesh had any foreign master.

Bangladesh's international relations must be conducted by prioritising the country's sovereignty and national interests, he added.