AL team leaves for India on BJP invitation

A 19-member Awami League delegation led by party general secretary Obaidul Quader is going to India today under the invitation of the ruling Indian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

This is the first high-level political interaction between the two parties. The timing of the tour, which is taking place months before the national elections of Bangladesh, has prompted much discussion.

During the visit, the AL delegation is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 4:15 pm on Monday at his office in Parliament. The delegation will also meet BJP President Amit Shah in the evening on the same day before attending a dinner to be hosted by BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, reports our Delhi correspondent.

Besides, the AL team will also meet with Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Monday morning.

According to the schedule, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Syed Muazzem Ali will host a dinner for the AL delegation on Sunday.

Obaidul Quader, also the Road Transport and Bridges minister, held a press conference yesterday at the party president's Dhanmondi office to give a brief on his tour.

“It's a party to party programme and through the tour our relationship will be strengthened further. India is more than a neighbour,” he said.

Responding to a query, the AL general secretary said, “There is a beauty in Indian democracy and the country never interferes in other country's internal affair.”

The other members of the delegation are AL leaders Pijush Kanti Bhattacharya, Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Abdur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Ahmod Hossain, Misbah Uddin Siraj, AFM  Bahauddin Nasim, AKM Enamul Haque Shamim, Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury Nowfel, Abdus Sobhan Golap, Shammi Ahmed, Mrinal Kanti Das, Abdus Sobur, Rokeya Sultana, Sujit Roynandi, Aminul Islam Amin and Golam Kabir Rabbani Chinu.

The delegation will return to the country on Tuesday.