Former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia said her party was focusing on Tipaimukh dam, the Asian Highway and demarcation of maritime boundary as priority issues in order to protect national interests.

Khaleda, leader of the opposition in the present parliament, outlined the BNP’s present priorities apart from reorganising the party while talking exclusively to the news agency at her Gulshan office on Sunday night. She said India’s Tipaimukh dam was an important national issue for Bangladesh and it should be resolved through united effort of all irrespective of political opinions.

Referring to the presentation of data and information about the controversial dam and its adverse impacts on Bangladesh under her personal initiative on July 18, Khaleda said she had invited ministers, leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties, experts and people of different professions to share information, data and knowledge over the dam and its possible fallouts.

The BNP chairperson observed that not only people of Bangladesh, people of some states of India have also raised their voice against the Indian government’s move to construct the Tipaimukh dam as it will harm both the countries rather than help either. She said since experts were more competent than others to analyse the impact of the dam, her party had been emphasising sending experts to visit the dam site and collect data and information about it.

Khaleda mentioned that earlier she had sent a letter to the prime minister with a list of six members of a team that included four experts to visit the dam site. The names were sent responding to the prime minister’s proposal, but they did not yet get any reply from the government side.

On organisational matter, the BNP chairperson said she was now engrossed in dealing with organisational matters. She said the central committee of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal had been constituted and committees of other front organisations, including Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal and Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal, were in the offing.

Replying to a question, Khaleda said, ‘There is no disappointment among leaders and workers over the formation of grassroots-level committees as everything is moving smoothly.’ She however said in few palaces, where some problems are there, grassroots leaders are informing the party in writing and corrective measures are being taken. Asked about the pro-reform group in the BNP that had emerged during the previous army-backed caretaker regime, Khaleda said: ‘Excepting one or two, all of them are in the party.’

-New Age