MPs turn up the heat on BNP over prime minister snub

Several treasury bench and opposition MPs have harshly criticised the behaviour towards Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when she went to console bereaving Khaleda Zia.

In an unscheduled discussion in Parliament on Sunday evening, they said the BNP ‘disgraced’ the sense of courtesy by turning the prime minister away from the gate of the BNP chief's Gulshan office.

On Saturday evening, Hasina went to visit her arch political rival after Khaleda's youngest son Arafat Rahman Coco died in Malaysia.

But she failed to meet her as the gate was locked from inside. She returned after waiting for a while. No BNP leader came to the gate or spoke to her at the time.

The BNP chairperson's Special Assistant Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas had told reporters outside the office that it would not be possible to let the prime minister meet the grieving mother as she had been put to sleep by doctors.

Leader of the Opposition Raushon Ershad initiated the unscheduled discussion.

Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Awami League MPs Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Suranjit Sengupta, Dipu Moni, and JaSaD lawmaker Moinuddin Khan Badal took part in the discussion.

However, Leader of the House and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was not in Parliament at the time.

Referring to the behaviour towards Hasina, Raushon said: “How will we pursue politics if we don’t want to courteous?”

She said, "Everyone hoped a solution will come if the two leaders had spoken. But the gate was locked up. People were shocked and didn't like it."

Tofail, who had accompanied Hasina during the visit, said, “The prime minister went to console a mother who lost her son. But she was not allowed to get in, though Jamiruddin Sircar and Moudud Ahmed were inside. I was surprised.”

"Some things should never be done in politics," he added.

Selim said, “One cannot do this if one has the sense of courtesy."

The ‘entire nation’ was insulted when the prime minister was turned away from Khaleda's office's gate, he said.