BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to hold a national dialogue to solve the Rohingya crisis.

"The Rohingya issue is a national crisis, and it cannot be solved by one particular party. It is a question of Bangladesh's existence. I call for a national dialogue," he told a media briefing at the party Naya Paltan office in Dhaka on Thursday (Nov 14).

Rizvi also demanded that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's experiences in dealing with the Rohingya crisis be used to solve the issue.

Criticising the PM remarks on the Rohingya crisis was created by Ziaur Rahman, Rizvi said, "The PM made such comments to cover her own government's failure to deal with the crisis.

"Nobody can make such a comment without being insane," he added.

Calling for a dialogue between the prime minister and Khaleda Zia, Rizvi said, "If Khaleda Zia is freed, then we can put her experiences into working together to solve the problem." 

Talking about Khaleda Zia's health, the BNP leader said, "Everyone knows you cannot get proper treatment inside a jail.

"The government, in blind vengeance, is slowly pushing Khaleda to her death by creating obstacles against her receiving proper treatment," he added.

Rizvi further claimed that the government is openly intervening in court matters to stop Khaleda from securing her bail. 

Earlier on Thursday (Nov 13), Khaleda, now in jail, filed an appeal with the Appellate Division against the High Court order that had rejected her bail plea in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case.

A High Court bench rejected her bail petition, in which Khaleda had been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, on July 31.

Rizvi also blamed the Bangladesh Sheikh Mujib Medical University authorities for not taking proper steps to ensure Khaleda's treatment.