BNP senior leader Gayeshwar Chandra Roy on Monday questioned whether Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming to Bangladesh as part of a campaign of West Bengal Assembly elections.
“He (Modi) will come to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence. He’ll go to temples in Gopalganj and Satkhira though there’re Dhakeshwari and Ramna Kali temples in Dhaka,” he said.
Speaking at a doa-mahfil-cum-discussion meeting, the BNP leader said, “Elections are going to be held in West Bengal. Newspapers, researchers and many people say he’s coming here to meet the heirs of West Bengal’s Matua community, and it’s an election campaign.”
Dhaka district unit BNP arranged the programme at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office seeking divine blessings for the speedy recovery of ailing BNP leaders, including party chief Khaleda Zia, standing committee member Selima Rahman, senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Dhaka south unit BNP president Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel.
Gayeshwar, a BNP standing committee member, recalled how Bangladeshi film actor Ferdous faced difficulties by taking part in the election campaign of a celebrity in West Bengal during India’s last general election.
“His (Ferdous’) passport was seized and he returned home from there offering an apology. So, many things happened over an actor’s participation in the election campaign. So, how can we allow this? What does it mean?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on March 26 on a two-day visit to join the celebrations of 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence and the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahma.
He is also scheduled to visit Bangabandhu Memorial in Tungipara and Orakandi, a sacred shrine of the “Matua” community in Gopalganj and another temple in Sathkhira.