BHOLA : Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad Bir Bikram today said Bangladesh expects a neighbourly relationship with India based on dignity, adding that Bangladesh wants friendly relations with all countries, including India.
"We need to maintain good relations with India. But it does not appear that India wants good relations," he said, noting that India has given shelter to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and allowed her to conduct politics from there, which is not desirable.
The Speaker made these remarks while talking to journalists after an exchange of views with the deputy commissioner, superintendent of police and other government officials at Bhola Circuit House.
He further said the autocratic Hasina government was ousted through an uprising, following which an interim government ran the country for nearly two years.
In February this year, he said, the people of the country handed the responsibility of forming the government to BNP through a fair election and the present government is only seven months old.
He said every sector of the country suffered a collapse due to the Awami League government's misrule over the past 17 years, during which the regime set records in killings, murders, enforced disappearances, money laundering and corruption, pushing the country to the brink of destruction.
The Speaker noted that it would take time to bring development from this situation, adding that although only seven months have passed since the new government took office, which is a short time, development work has already begun.
Recalling Bangladesh's future development, he said if the ruling party and the opposition can reach consensus, Bangladesh will be freed from 17 years of long deprivation and the country will succeed in its journey of development.
Referring to the July uprising, he said both the ruling party and the opposition are committed to implementing the July Charter, and the desired outcome will be visible once the work of constitutional reform is completed.
The Speaker also said the people of the country have now regained freedom of speech. During the Awami League regime, it was not possible to speak the truth, he said, adding that many had to give up their lives in crossfire for speaking the truth, while many people were subjected to enforced disappearance.
Bhola Deputy Commissioner Dr Shamim Rahman, Superintendent of Police Shahidullah Kawsar, District BNP Convener and District Council Administrator Golam Nabi Alamgir, and District BNP Member Secretary Raisul Alam, among others, were present on the occasion.
After a three-day visit to Bhola, the Speaker, left for Dhaka via Barisal today.
