BNP doesn't talk about Rohingyas to foreigners: Quader

Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said though BNP often lodges complaints to foreigners, it never talks about forcibly displaced Rohingyas who took shelter in Bangladesh.

He told a discussion and doa mahfil at the Agricultural Research Council auditorium at Farmgate in Dhaka on Friday, marking the National Mourning Day.

Bangladesh Agricultural Economists Association (BAEA) arranged it.

On Thursday, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged: "Since the outset, the government has been using Rohingya issue for its political interest."

About BNP's allegation, Quader said: "BNP frequently makes complaints to foreigners. Did they ever talk about Rohingya to foreigners? Yesterday, the US Secretary of State said that they would rehabilitate some of Rohingyas. Thus, ambassadors of 14 countries stationed in Dhaka assured that they would also take initiative in this regard. BNP lodges complaints to them, but they didn't utter a single word about Rohingyas."

The AL general secretary said BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia did a photo session in the name of providing relief goods to Kutupalong Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar after the exodus of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to Bangladesh.

BNP didn't talk about Rohingya population for a single day in the last five years and now they are talking about Rohingya during this global crisis period, he said.

The minister mentioned about the government's all-out efforts for Rohingyas including rehabilitating them in Bhashan Char.

"(Additional) 11.5 lakh people are on our shoulder. Though the government made such massive efforts, BNP is making leap service. Still Now BNP is making venomous comments against the government," Quader said.

Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim and State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam addressed the discussion with BAEA President and former senior secretary Sajjadul Hasan in the chair.