Khaleda Zia has called Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina “Gopali” (Gopalganj resident), referring to her Gopalganj roots, in a tit-for-tat attack on her arch political rival, who had called her ‘Golapi’ (the pink one).
“She (Hasina) says that Gopalis (Gopalganj residents) are Kopali (lucky). Alas! Gopali isn’t riding a train; she is riding a crane! They should be pulled up by the crane,” the BNP Chairperson said on Sunday.
The allusion was to a famous Bangladeshi film – Golapi Ekhon Train-e (Golapi is now on a train) made in 1978.
She took the dig while addressing a reception given to the newly elected committee of the Dhaka Bar Association at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, auditorium, in Dhaka.On Dec 29, then the Opposition Leader, Khaleda Zia, in an outburst at some police personnel who had prevented her from getting outside her Gulshan residence, said, “Where are you from? Gopali? Gopalganj? The name Gopalganj will be changed… Gopalganj won’t exist.”
Later, Prime Minister Hasina hit back at Khaleda for her disparaging remarks about her home district, saying that the ‘Gopalis’ have also become Kopalis (the lucky ones).
Addressing a public rally in Rajshahi’s Sarda on Feb 8, Hasina, alluding to Khaleda, had said: “‘Oh Golapi (the pink one)! You missed the train!!’ She was apparently referring to the BNP’s boycott of the national election.
Khaleda on Sunday again defended her party’s decision to stay away from the Jan 5 parliamentary elections. “The people didn’t go to the polling centres in response to our call. But the Awami League is saying that we (the BNP) missed the train by not taking part in the election.”
“I would say that it’s not we but they who missed the train. They (Awami League) boarded the wrong train instead of the people’s train. The train has derailed. It should be removed with the help of a crane.”
The former Prime Minister raised a copy of the Jan 6 edition of the Bengali daily ‘Dainik Inqilab’ and pointed to the headline: ‘Silent Rejection’.
“There is no one at the voting centre. A dog is in the field. The government should find that dog and reward it.”
The BNP chief said both Parliament and the new government were illegal. “There is no Opposition (in Parliament). The House is being run by unelected and illegal representatives with the money collected as taxes from the people.” – bdnews24.com
