Bangladeshi main opposition party joins 'India out’ campaign

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Bangladeshi opposition parties on Wednesday joined the "India out" campaign -- an online initiative to shun Indian goods that was launched by activists following the Jan. 7 national general elections.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which boycotted the election, said at a news conference at its headquarters in Dhaka that it has "officially participated in the campaign."

“Ruling Awami League Party leaders made it certain that neighboring India helped them return to power through a non-participatory election,” said senior Joint Secretary-General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi. “India has unjustly placed the Awami League in power against the wishes of the people of Bangladesh and has violated international law.”

Awami League leaders categorically said India supported the party in holding the election amid strong opposition from Bangladesh’s global partners, according to the BNP.

But Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said earlier this week: "No powerful country could interfere in the last election as India stood beside us.”

And Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said India was "beside" Bangladesh in the elections.

The boycott campaign is abuzz, including on social media. Rizvi said: “People are protesting India by boycotting their products.”

Pro-democracy parties, including the BNP, are expressing solidarity with the campaign, he said.

He later threw his Indian shawl in front of the party’s office and joined the campaign.

The new government in Bangladesh took office Jan. 10 amid a boycott by the opposition.

Opposition parties, led by BNP, demanded new elections under a neutral caretaker government.

The US, EU and their Western allies termed the election not “fair and participatory.” They also expressed concern about the arbitrary arrests of opposition parties.

The Awami League Party, however, called the election free, fair and participatory.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, after taking office, claimed that the election was one of the fairest since the country's independence in 1971.