BNP demands withdrawal of Mamata’s UN peacekeeper statement

The BNP today demanded the immediate withdrawal of the statement of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee regarding the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Bangladesh, describing it as a threat to the country's independence and sovereignty.

Party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, currently in the UK, made the demand during a phone conversation with UNB.

“What the West Bengal Chief Minister said about sending peacekeepers to Bangladesh is completely a threat to the independence and sovereignty of our country,” he said.

The BNP leader said the attitudes of the Indian leaders have been exposed to some extent through this statement.

“I think West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should immediately withdraw her statement. She should not have any such thoughts as the people of Bangladesh gained independence through the Liberation War and recently they got back democracy through a revolution,” he said.

Fakhrul termed Mamata’s remarks a plot against Bangladesh and said the people will prevent any conspiracy at any cost.

Indian media on Monday reported that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee urged the central government to seek the deployment of a peacekeeping mission by the Union Nations in Bangladesh to tackle the ongoing situation there.

"We have families... properties... and loved ones in Bangladesh. We accept whatever stance the Government of India takes on this...but we condemn atrocities on religious grounds anywhere in the world and appeal to the union government, and the Prime Minister, to intervene," NDTV quoted Mamata as saying.