Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has slammed a faction of opposition leaders who are intensifying their attempts to stoke anti-India sentiments within the country. This followed Hasina’s fourth consecutive victory in the general election of the country, which prompted a part of the opposition to spearhead a “Boycott India” campaign, on similar lines to that of Maldives’ Muizzu.
Khalida Zia-led-Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the principal opposition, has accused Awami League’s Hasina of being “pro-India.” The party which has been out of power for decades, also accused Indian influence on her election win in January.
One of the senior leaders of BNP had last month said: “India’s position on the election went against people’s expectations, which led some Bangladeshis to launch the boycott campaign.” Another senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said: “India does not support the people of Bangladesh, but the Awami League. This is why people are venting their anger by boycotting Indian products.”
However, Hasina retaliated to the allegations and the opposition’s call for “boycott India” in a recent rally where she lambasted the BNP leadership. The Awami League leader, who is an avid admirer of India and Sarees, questioned the anti-India rhetoric of the opposition BNP.
“A BNP leader has burnt his shawl. How many Indian sarees do the wives of these BNP leaders have? I saw BNP ministers’ wives selling sarees imported from India before Eid,” she said while addressing an Awami League’s Independence Day discussion in Dhaka last week.