Hasina slams Zia's contentions over India visit

Invoking her father's sacrifice in founding Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday lashed out at Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief Khaleda Zia and its fundamentalist ally Jamat-i-Islami over their campaign about 'sellout' of the country during her recent India visit.

Addressing a conference of Muslim priests, she said, "You read the joint communique and find out whether there is any anti-Bangladesh element in it."

Hasina reminded that her father Bangladesh's founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman led the Bengali nation in attaining the independence and said 'how his daughter (herself) can sell out the motherland?'

The premier said she believed BNP and its key ally fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami was carrying out propaganda over her India visit as her incumbent government launched a tough campaign against terrorism and militancy.

The ruling Awami League accuses the BNP-led four party alliance of patronising the Islamist militancy during its past 2001-2006 rule.

Hasina's comments came as India factor grips Bangladesh politics since her January 10-13 New Delhi tour with the ruling and opposition alliances trading allegations and counter allegations.

Zia earlier this week alleged that her archrival has sold out the country to India while she also feared that the premier signed 'a secret security pact' during her maiden India visit.

"Make it public if you are familiar with any such deal," Awami League general secretary and local government minister Syed Ashraful Islam told a crowded press throwing a 'challenge' to the opposition leader calling her comments as 'irresponsible and vulgar.'

He also added," Should there be no limit of propagating falsehood and malice?"

Zia also alleged that the premier 'sold out' the country to the big neighbour by reaching three treaties, two protocols and agreeing to offer New Delhi the country's seaport facilities.

Hasina earlier defended the deals saying those paved ways for enhanced bilateral and regional cooperation to fight 'poverty, our common enemy.'

"Opposing India is nothing new in Bangladesh. It became a habit of some people and we have nothing to do about it," she said.

Foreign relations and economic analysts largely welcomed outcome of Hasina's maiden New Delhi tour calling it a 'bold shift' in bilateral ties as she binned opposition criticisms alleging the deals to have compromised Bangladesh's interests.

In a related development, the state run BSS news agency on Wednesday said the leading Bangladeshi businessmen today made a fervent to the opposition to extend their cooperation to the government in strengthening relations with India.

The businessmen who were members of the prime minister's entourage in the New Delhi visit observed that the BNP's comment on the outcome of the visit was nothing but a 'long-practised bad tradition' of opposing government's steps without judging the merits.

"The BNP-led four-party alliance was effortless in boosting relation with India leaving the vast scopes for bilateral trade and business unexplored," Kazi Akram Uddin, Chairman of Standard Bank told mediapersons at the briefing.

Uddin, who led the 50-member business delegation to India, observed that the visit of Sheikh Hasina started rebuilding the relations, which would benefit Bangladesh the most.

Dhaka-New Delhi relations witnessed ups and downs in the past several decades but it is said to have witnessed its lowest ebb during the 2001-2006 tenure of BNP-led four party right-wing coalition while the ties started improving during the subsequent military backed interim administration.