India ‘trying to seize CHT’, says Hannan Masud
PARBATTA NEWS DESK
India is playing its “final trump card” over Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts, or CHT, and is trying to make it unstable, an NCP leader has claimed.
Abdul Hannan Masud, senior joint chief coordinator of the National Citizens Party (NCP), alleged that a “fake rape” case had been used to pit the hill communities and Bengalis against each other.
He made the remarks on Sunday evening (28 September) at a rally of unity and solidarity at Saiful Market in Chanandi Union, Hatiya, Noakhali.
Mr Masud said “a conspiracy is underway” concerning Bangladesh’s hill areas. “India wants to seize our hill region. We will not give even an inch of our land to anyone,” he told the audience.
Referring to Bangladesh’s independence war, he added: “Just as we confronted Pakistan in 1971, we will confront India in 2025.”
The NCP leader also said attempts were being made to discredit Bangladesh’s young leadership. “When young leaders stand by the people and come close to the people, attempts are made to make them controversial,” he stated.
Mr Masud claimed that Bangladesh had shown a path to independence that Indonesia and Nepal later followed.
Turning to the forthcoming national election, he warned voters about “seasonal birds” who would “come to you and put on a show of crocodile tears”.
“I am your son,” he said. “So I will never come to you to ask for votes. You should vote for whoever you find nearby in times of danger and trouble.”
