Hasina’s India pacts a total sell-out, says Khaleda Zia
By IANSSunday, January 17, 2010
DHAKA - Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia Sunday termed the agreements signed with India during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s New Delhi visit as “a total sell-out”.
Zia, a former prime minister, told a media conference that Hasina’s visit and the talks she had with the Indian leadership were “not only a failure, but also a harmful event for the country”, Star Online, website of The Daily Star reported.
Zia has been reportedly engaging parties, groups and individuals to build a mass movement to protest the three agreements and two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) Hasina signed during her New Delhi visit.
In her formal reaction to the visit, Khaleda Zia said the prime minister “returned home empty-handed from India”.
“Everything Bangladesh had to offer, it handed to India on this visit,” bdnews24 web site quoted her as saying.
“People expected that the prime minister will bring something from India that will work for our welfare. But they were disappointed as the prime minister returned empty-handed.
“She (Hasina) sold the country to India. People did not give her the mandate to sell the country,” Khaleda said.
Khaleda said the visit has been successful for India, but not for Bangladesh. She said far from benefiting Bangladesh, the prime minister’s visit had harmed national interests.
She dismissed the trip as a “total sell-out” and said the deals signed between Bangladesh and India during Hasina’s visit “left the people in the dark”.
Zia’s press interaction came a day after Hasina strongly defended the pacts signed during the New Delhi visit.
The pacts cover a wide range of issues including exchange of criminals, combating terrorism and curbing drug-trafficking. An understanding was reached on expeditious resolution of land and maritime border dispute and sharing of river waters.
