BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said people should reject the idea that the party’s acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, is staying abroad, as suggested by India.

“As hinted by India, Tarique Rahman is not coming to the country – don’t think so. The BNP has never compromised on democracy,” he said at a views-exchange meeting with retired members of the armed forces at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office in Dhaka.

Tarique also joined the event virtually from London.

Coming down heavily on a party without naming it, Fakhrul said the party that opposed the country’s independence is once again using religion to mislead people.

The BNP has to secure a landslide victory in the upcoming parliamentary election, he added.