BNP leader hits out at Sheikh Hasina, says she would have merged Bangladesh with India

A senior leader of Bangladesh’s main opposition party has launched a scathing attack on former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, claiming she would have merged the country with India had she remained in power.

Shamsuzzaman Dudu, vice-chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), made the comments during a civic rally on Saturday (April 19) organised to protest what he described as the “persecution and killing of Muslims in India.”

“She not only fled to India to save her life, her real address is India,” said Dudu, a former lawmaker and close aide of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia. “Maybe if she had had a little more time, she would have also integrated Bangladesh with India,” he said, according to a report by The Week.

Dudu also criticized India, accusing it of backing Hasina and calling the neighboring country “fascist”.

“India says they gave her shelter to protect Hasina. It is not protection— Sheikh Hasina’s ideal is India and her address is India,” Dudu said. “A fascist can only live with fascists.”

The BNP leader accused Hasina of weakening Bangladesh’s sovereignty and undermining democracy. “Hasina made Bangladesh a slave of India in every sense by destroying the electoral system and democracy,” he alleged.

Dudu’s remarks come amid heightened tensions between the interim Bangladeshi government and India, following the reported killing of a prominent Hindu leader in Dinajpur district, about 330 kilometers northwest of Dhaka.

According to local media, Bhabesh Chandra Roy, 58, vice-president of the Biral unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, was allegedly abducted from his home and beaten to death. He was a well-known figure in the local Hindu community.

India officially protested the killing, but Bangladesh’s interim government rejected claims that Roy was targeted for his religious identity.

“It is unfortunate that the death of Mr Bhabesh Chandra Roy has been described as part of a ‘pattern of systematic persecution’ of Hindu minorities under the interim government,” said Shafiul Alam, press secretary for the interim administration.

Dudu maintained that his party views India as a neighbour and a friendly country, but said recent developments raise questions about the nature of the bilateral relationship.