Release Khaleda, hold talk for polls: Fakhrul to govt

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today again called upon the government to undertake an initiative to arrange the 11th parliamentary election under a nonpartisan and neutral administration.

"Release our party chief (Khaleda) and hold talks with her to create an appropriate electoral atmosphere in arranging the next general election under a nonparty neutral government," Fakhrul came up with the call while addressing a programme at the National Press Club in Dhaka this noon.

The BNP leader also urged the government to deploy army in the election to protect the people's voting rights from the harassment of the "gangster loyal to the government."

Referring to newspaper reports that five defence deals signed with India, Fakhrul said the present government is not elected by the people and raised a question over validity in signing the accords with the neighbouring country.

"Who have given you (prime minister) the rights to sign the deals?" Fakhrul asked pointing finger at Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

About the Rohingya repatriation deal with Myanmar, Fakhrul said the government has inked a deal to accelerate the Rohingya repatriation process but failed to send them back till the day.

The government has been claiming that Bangladesh's bilateral relationship with India has reached a new height but it failed to ensure the due share of Teesta River water.

"I want to tell the government that the people are the sole owner of the country. Please try to uphold their hopes and aspirations. Otherwise, they will not forgive you (government)," he warned.

Bangabandhu-1 satellite not owned by the government

Fakhrul said the Bangabandhu-1 satellite, which was launched into orbit carrying a red-and-green Bangladesh flag on its side, is no longer owned by the government of Bangladesh.

"Ownership of the satellite has been sold out to two persons and you (people) will have to pay them for its service," Fakhrul said without mentioning any name of the owner.

Fakhrul made the remark when Bangladesh is claiming to set up a milestone with the successful launch of the Bangabandhu-1 satellite by SpaceX at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral at 2:14 am Bangladesh (local time) on Saturday.