BNP chief Khaleda Zia has been dropped from the list of Eid greetings by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this year.
It is customary to exchange greetings during Eid and other festivals and the prime minister sends out cards to people from all walks of lives, including her archrival.
But this year was an exception as no card has been dispatched for Khaleda.
Awami League leaders said that Khaleda’s conviction for graft was the reason.
“The prime minister did not send Eid greeting to Khaleda Zia. It’s just not possible under the circumstances,” Presidium member Faruk Khan told the Bangla Tribune.
Joint General Secretary Abdur Rahman said, “Khaleda Zia is guilty of corruption and the prime minister can’t send Eid greetings to a convict.”
Organising Secretary Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said that Khaleda was ‘no longer a political leader’. “She was convicted of embezzlement of funds and the prime minister can’t send an Eid card to a criminal.”
A three-time prime minister, Khaleda is serving a five-year term since Feb 8, when a Dhaka court convicted her of embezzling foreign donations made to the Zia Orphanage Trust.