Dhaka: The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) appears to have revived an anti-transit campaign as Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina's government prepares to allow India to transport goods to its isolated northeastern states through the country.
"No foreign vehicle would be allowed to go through the country at the cost of the country's interests, BNP chief and former prime minister Khaleda Zia told a party rally late Sunday days after Dhaka said it would charge India "transit fees" instead of "duties" in exchange for offering the transit facilities.
She added: "Earlier, they [government] said dollars would surge into the country and Bangladesh would be turned into another Singapore if transit was allowed to India.
"Now we are hearing that they [India] are not even willing to pay the normal duties."
Zia's comments came as Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith last week said Dhaka would need to charge India "something" in service charges as they would use infrastructure in Bangladesh for carrying their goods as duties could not be charged under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) provisions against transit facilities.
Officials recently said initiatives were also underway to frame new rules to determine the amount of fees in accordance with international practices after Dhaka and New Delhi last March signed a crucial trans-shipment agreement finalising an earlier deal to allow Indian goods to be trans-shipped to its northeastern Tripura state through Bangladesh.
Transit through Bangla desh, for India in particular, remained a contentious issue as the BNP and its rightwing allies were opposed to the facility for "security and economic concerns".
Zia's past four-party government earlier also declined to sign the trans-national UN-ESCAP sponsored deal, calling the proposed routes "not suitable for the country" as they would eventually let Bangladesh be used as a transport "corridor" to India while it opposed the recent decision of the ruling Awami League government to join the network.
A senior BNP leader and party spokesman, M.K. Anwar, last week, however, said the main opposition would not oppose the transit if it proved beneficial to the country.
Zia asked her archrival Hasina to scrap all agreements she had signed during her maiden visit to New Delhi last January, adding "otherwise, we will resist them along with the people".
