BNP to decide protest plans

BNP chief Khaleda Zia has called an emergency meeting of the party’s highest policymaking forum, the national standing committee, to decide on protest plans against the bifurcation of the Dhaka City Corporation.

“The meeting will begin around 8pm on Wednesday. The country’s political scenario, DCC bifurcation, the answer of the Indian prime minister on the Tipaimukh issue would top the agenda,” her spokesperson Maruf Kamal Khan told bdnews24.com.

On Tuesday noon, the party’s acting secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir warned the government of tougher street protests if they press on with splitting the DCC. Hours later, the parliament passed the Local Government (City Corporation) (Amendment) Bill 2011.

A number of senior leaders of the BNP told bdnews24.com that the meeting has been called to finalise the party’s response to the government move.

The letter of Manmohan Singh to Khaleda would also come up prominently.

On Nov 26, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka forwarded a letter to BNP from Manmohan as he responded to a previous letter by the opposition leader expressing her concern over the Tipaimukh dam project.

The Nov 22 letter by the BNP chief had urged the Indian government to conduct a joint survey before the work on the dam and hydroelectric power plant starts. The letter also pointed out that building the dam would not only endanger livelihood of Indians dependent on the Barak River but also that of 30 million Bangladeshis, who are hugely dependent on the Meghna River.

Source: BD news 24