In a visit to New Delhi, Hossain Toufique Imam, an aide to Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the prime minister of Bangladesh, said that the embattled Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP has been an “anti-India” party “right from the beginning” and “tried to collude with Pakistan and China to harm India.” Imam’s statement came in the wake of the visit of senior BNP officials to India last month. The Awami National Party led by Sheikh Hasina is strongly tilted toward India, though China is a growing source of foreign investment in Bangladesh. China is also Bangladesh’s top arms supplier.
Ahead of general elections expected later this year, Hasina has imprisoned BNP leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. Some observers suggest that Bangladesh is moving toward becoming a one-party state.
An adviser to BNP leader Zia was deported from New Delhi on Tuesday. He was expected to hold a press conference on Zia’s legal plight.
