Adani unit shut down after PM Tarique skipped BRICS: Rizvi

BNP acting secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi today (16 September) questioned the timing of a technical disruption at an Adani power plant in India's Jharkhand after Prime Minister Tarique Rahman decided not to attend the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

Speaking at a human chain and protest rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club, Rizvi said Tarique Rahman's decision not to attend the summit demonstrated Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty.

"The invitation to Tarique Rahman had been extended in his capacity as the current chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation [Bimstec], rather than as Bangladesh's prime minister," he added.

Rizvi also said, "Tarique Rahman is the prime minister of an independent and sovereign country. You will not invite him as prime minister and expect him to sit on the sidelines. That cannot happen."

He also questioned the timing of the shutdown of one unit of Adani Power's Godda plant in Jharkhand, which supplies electricity to Bangladesh.

"He [Tarique] decided not to go, and the next day it was shut down. What was the reason behind that?" Rizvi said.

The Godda plant's Unit 2 was shut down around 1am on 10 September because of a technical problem involving a feed unit of its main water supply system, according to Bangladesh Power Development Board officials. The shutdown reduced Adani's electricity supply to Bangladesh by roughly half.

The unit resumed generation and reconnected to Bangladesh's national grid on 13 September after repairs. Adani Power said both units were subsequently brought back into operation and generation was being increased gradually.

Rizvi further said the plant supplies around 1,300MW of electricity to Bangladesh and claimed its location in Jharkhand means India could potentially control the supply.

The BNP leader's comments came after Bangladesh formally ruled out Tarique Rahman's participation in the BRICS Summit.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said on 10 September that the invitation was extended to Rahman as BIMSTEC chair, not as Bangladesh's prime minister.

India, however, has said Rahman was separately invited to the BRICS outreach session in his capacity as BIMSTEC chair, while a separate bilateral invitation had also been extended to him as Bangladesh's prime minister.

Rizvi also criticised India for not extraditing former prime minister Sheikh Hasina despite repeated requests from the Bangladesh government.

He alleged that several people accused of involvement in killings during the previous government's tenure had also taken shelter in India, and questioned why they had not been handed over to Bangladesh.

"You claim to be our friendly country. But what kind of friend are you?" Rizvi said, alleging that India was plotting against Bangladesh's political leadership while publicly maintaining friendly relations.

He also said several economic indicators, particularly remittance inflows and foreign exchange reserves, were showing positive trends despite the ongoing global gas and fuel crisis.

Rizvi further criticised what he described as attempts to undermine the country's Liberation War and democratic achievements, referring to recent developments at Dhaka University Central Students' Union and elsewhere.

He said the BNP, Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Muktijoddha Dal and other nationalist forces would not allow the achievements of the Liberation War and democracy to be undermined.

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