BNP looks for ways to evade next polls: Quader

Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Friday said the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is now looking for different ways not to take part in the upcoming national election after suffering a defeat in the Khulna polls.

"Not only in Khulna City Corporation, they were defeated in the Bar Council election...Now, they are looking for different ways not to take part in the next parliament election," he said, speaking at the biennial conference of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad at the auditorium of Engineers Institution in Dhaka.

Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad organised the biennial conference with its president Joyanto Sen Dipu in the chair.

Fisheries and livestock minister Narayon Chandra and state minister for youth and sports Biren Sikder addressed the conference as special guests while Indian high commissioner in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla inaugurated it.

Hindu, Bouddha, Christian Oikkya Parishad leader lawyer Rana Das Gupta, Puja Udjapan Parishad leaders Nirmal Kumar Chatarjee, Milan Kanti Datta and Manju Dhar also spoke in the conference while Puja Udjapan Parishad general secretary advocate Tapash Kumar Paul conducted it.

Road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader said granting bail to BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia by the court proved that there is rule of law in the country.

He said the people of the country would decide who will be in power.

Referring to AL delegation's recent visit to India, the AL general secretary said, "We discussed different issues of common interest with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and I hope that the Teesta Water sharing agreement will be signed soon."