Thaindian News

Dhaka, Jan 3 (IANS) Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia “must not prejudge” the outcome of the summit level talks Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will have in New Delhi next week, a Dhaka daily said Sunday.
“Patriotism cannot be the monopoly of a group or party,” The Daily Star said in an editorial, adding: “…which is why we believe Begum Zia should have been more circumspect in her remarks before a partisan audience.”

Hasina is expected to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan singh Jan 11.

Zia’s threat of launching an agitation should Hasina sign pacts with India that go against the national interest has triggered an animated media debate.

Taking an opposite stand, New Age newspaper observed that stand taken by the Hasina government on some of the bilateral issues “appears to be more favourable to India’s interest than Bangladesh’s”.

“The people expect the prime minister to sort out certain lingering disputes between Bangladesh and India during her upcoming visit…,” New Age said, listing “two or more relatively recent issues - namely New Delhi’s plan to construct a dam and a barrage on the upstream of the river Barak at Tipaimukh and request for transit facilities, and the link with the Asian Highway”.

It applauded Zia’s rhetorical call at a rally that she and her party workers would “welcome Hasina with flowers at the airport” should she sign pacts favourable to Bangladesh. This approach of Zia, it said was “refreshing and positive”.

However, The Daily Star observed: “The unvarnished truth here is that the opposition is presuming a little too much and clearly expects the prime minister to resolve all outstanding issues with India to our satisfaction with just one visit.

“The position the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) chairperson has taken is thus quite indefensible, given that she is patently prejudging the outcome of the talks between the Bangladesh and Indian heads of government,” The Daily Star said.

Questioning the performance of former prime minister Zia, the newspaper said the issues raised at a public rally should have been raised and debated in parliament that the opposition has been boycotting.

“Such obstructionist politics has constantly undermined the country,” the editorial said.

Urging a ‘re-think’ on the part of the opposition, the editorial said: “By threatening to go for an agitation on the streets, the former prime minister has deeply disappointed and embarrassed the country. The extent to which such a position can undermine democracy and push the country toward chaos can only be imagined”.