DHAKA, July 1, 2024 (BSS) – State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat today accused BNP of spreading propaganda and falsehood over the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Bangladesh and India recently.

“BNP is spreading propaganda and falsehood over the MoU without reading and understanding all of its clauses…The party is misleading people by partially presenting some clauses of the agreement,” he told media here.

The state minister made the remarks while addressing a press briefing at his ministry’s conference room in response to BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s recent remarks on the MoU signed during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent India visit.

Noting that Bangladesh's recent MoU with India is not a subservient foreign policy of the government in anyway but it is beneficial for both the friendly countries, he said BNP is spreading propaganda claiming that if Indian trains run through Bangladesh, it will create a security risk here, which is not right at all.

In this connection, he said the Clause-3 of the MoU clearly stated that 'red traffic' like dangerous and objectionable goods, including arms, ammunition and explosives, cannot be transported by the train.

Besides, the Clause-4 of the agreement also stated that the movement of goods and people between Bangladesh and India shall be subjected to the national laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the respective countries, he added.

But, he said, BNP never says that Bangladeshi trains will also run via India to Nepal and Bhutan, while trains from Nepal and Bhutan will come to Bangladesh through India and use Mongla and Chattogram sea ports instead of Kolkata port.

They (BNP leaders) do not say that Bangladesh will import 40 MW of electricity from Nepal using Indian transmission lines through its internal power grid, the state minister said.

Highlighting several diplomatic successes of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in regard of bilateral relations with India, the state minister said she (Sheikh Hasina) has been able to bring verdict in favour of Bangladesh by settling the maritime boundary dispute with India after taking the issue in an international forum.        

He stated that it was Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who added 10,000 acres of land with Bangladesh by settling the land boundary dispute and solving the enclave problems with India.

Besides, he said the Prime Minister strengthened the country’s military power by transforming the Bangladesh Navy into a three-dimensional force by adding ultramodern Chinese submarine to it.

Arafat said the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has imported electricity at a low cost from Palatana in Tripura, India. She (Sheikh Hasina) herself realized the fair share of Ganges water by convincing India to sign the historic Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, he added.

Referring to BNP Chairperson and the then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia’s remarks that she had forgotten to talk about Ganges water sharing issue during her India visit, the state minister said it is Sheikh Hasina, who has kept India under pressure for signing Teesta water sharing agreement.

He categorically said that if the agreement is signed, it will be done by Sheikh Hasina. “There is no evidence that BNP had any concern about Teesta water sharing issue when they were in power,” he added.

Terming BNP's politics as subservient one, he said BNP distributed sweets among its supporters when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power for the first time in India in 2014.

On the role of BNP for signing the Teesta water sharing agreement, he said BNP never raise the issue with India to realize the fair share of Teesta water when the party was in power. Rather, he said, BNP came to power in 2001 by giving undertaking to supply gas to India.

Responding to various remarks of BNP leaders, he said, “You are against the regional connectivity as your thoughts are subservient and as a result, you could not take the offer of connecting Bangladesh with submarine cable network free of cost and for this reason the people of Bangladesh had to count a financial loss of hundreds of crore of Taka later on”.

Arafat said the then BNP government did not allow the gas export from Myanmar to India through Bangladesh and deprived the people of Bangladesh from getting gas at cheap rate.

“Your (BNP leaders’) conscience is subservient, that’s why you are criticizing the Awami League government shamelessly despite having so many achievements,” he added.

The state minister accused BNP leaders of telling lies frequently saying that they can do these since their standard of integrity is not up to the mark.