Memory Lane:
BNP spends $150,000 including for hiring lobbyists in USA!
"Spending an extra fifty thousand dollars to hire a Washington-based lobbyist firm completely worthless when it costs an estimated one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the high-profile one-week visit of BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia' to the United States, including the hiring of the firm," an adviser to the leader mentioned journalist Saturday.
"All efforts, including appointment of the firm, went in vain as the much-talked-about visit of the BNP chairperson failed to reap any benefits for not being able to parlay with the US administration,'' he added.
He, however, disclosed that the actual amount of the funds raised by Khaleda's adviser Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury from home and abroad for appointing such a lobbyist was three hundred thousand dollars, sources added.
According to them, Begum Zia was, however, very upset at the end of her trip to the USA over the failure of Shamsher Chowdhury in organizing high-level state meetings.
Begum Zia reportedly expressed her utter anguish on her adviser Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury as he could not fix an appointment with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Vice-president Joe Biden.
According to the local party sources, the appointment was made by the self-initiative of local BNP activists without hiring any lobbyist.
Besides, US Vice-President Joe Biden's office was also reportedly approached by the same person for an appointment, but the Bidden office expressed its utter surprise as it said: The lobbyist group is interested to get an appointment with the advisors of the Vice president, not the vice president, the sources claimed.
Breakdown the expenditures:
BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia received a huge discount from hotel Woldorf Astoria as more than a hundred Bangladeshi members of staff are working there as employees.
According to the sources, just the hundred thousand dollars were spent on hotel accommodation of Begum Zia and her staff, security, transportation, reception and the publicity purpose.
These expenditures were met by the BNP activists from and around the United States of America. The security personnel cost 15 thousand, the reception hall at the Hotel Sheraton and the sound system together cost 17 thousand, publicity including posters, banners and advertisements in the local newspapers 16 thousand while the transportation expenses were 25 thousand dollars.
It is learnt that Shamsher Mobin Chwodhury had asked the hotel authority to book a suite for Begum Zia and seven other guest rooms and luxury motorcade for the trip of the BNP chairperson to the United States.
The hotel accommodations cost about 36 thousand dollars. Among the three hotels in New Jersey, New York and Washington, DC, the hotel in Washington was the most expensive one.
New York and New Jersey hotels' price tags were about 10 thousand each while the Washington, DC, about 16 thousand five hundred only. All sum up with 99 thousand eight hundred only, as the sources gave the approximate and an early count.
An additional amount of fifty thousand dollars was also reportedly spent for appointing lobbyist firm to arrange high-profile meetings with US senators, congressmen and high officials from President Obama's administration.
There has been a widespread allegation that although an estimated three hundred thousand dollars fund was raised, the amount was not officially disclosed.
As Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury and some other leaders, including Sharafat and Osman Siddiqui, were quite busy with fundraising in the name of hiring lobbyist firm, so they were not aware of anything about ensuring 'high-profile 'meetings of the BNP chairperson. However, they assured Begum Zia of arranging meeting with Hillary Rodham Clinton and a dinner meeting with 50 senators and Congressmen, alleged one source.
Funds
According to reliable sources in BNP, the fund was collected from BNP state committees and well-off party-men, including some newcomers who are interested to be State BNP President or others who want to be part of the stage show.
These individuals donated from 5 thousand to 15 thousand per person according to the source. But many of them are unhappy now because their dream did not come true.
BNP bubbles burst in US
Leaders furious as tour advisers fail to fix high profile meetings
http://news.priyo.com/politics/2011/05/29/bnp-bubbles-burst-us-27440.html
Hillary-Khaleda parley Tuesday
The stage is now all but set for opposition BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's much-sought-after meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, DC, next Tuesday.
http://news.priyo.com/politics/2011/05/20/hillary-khaleda-parley-tuesday-26580.html
It Turned into a Trip of Sigh :
Alas For The Rarity Of American Charity Under The Sun!
From the Trip of Sigh -
Khaleda returns today:
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, also leader of the opposition in the parliament, will return home after a two-week visit to the United Kingdom and the United States.
Khaleda is scheduled to reach Shahjahal International Airport at 5:40pm by a flight of the Emirates Airline, party leaders said.
The party will accord a reception to Khaleda on her return home on her winning the New Jersey state senate's honorary award as a 'fighter of democracy.'
Besides holding a series of meetings with the leaders of both the ruling and opposition camps in both the United Kingdom and the United States, Khaleda Zia attended different political programmes there.
She also met her eldest son, Tarique Rahman, also the BNP's senior vice-chairman, in London on her way to the United States.
Khaleda left Dhaka on May 14 for London and then she flew to the United States from London on May 21.
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