20-Party Alliance vows to stay with movement to free BNP chief
Barrister Moudud Ahmed, standing committee member of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has said he has lost all hopes of freeing party chairperson Khaleda Zia from imprisonment through a legal battle.
He made the statement while addressing a rally, organized by the BNP-led 20-Party Alliance, to mourn the murder of Buet student Abrar Fahad, at the National Press Club on Tuesday.
The senior BNP leader said: “I do not think that Khaleda Zia can be freed from jail through a legal process or even on parole.”
“Therefore, she must be freed by waging a movement. The BNP led 20-Party Alliance will hold on to fight till the end. We will grow bigger as a coalition to further strengthen the movement,” he said.
Barrister Moudud further added: “Each and every wing [Chhatra League, Jubo League, and others] of this government is corrupted, and they engage in extortion and tender manipulations. This government must step down as soon as possible for the greater interest of the country.”
Speaking about the killing of Abrar Fahad, he said: “Chhatra League has been terrorizing all universities, and creating torture cells in every residential hall, which came to light after Abrar’s death.”
Also addressing the event, BNP Vice Chairman Abdul Awal Mintoo expressed his dissatisfaction with the BNP lawmakers, who are currently in the parliament, and questioned their ability to free their party president legally. He termed them as the enemy who want to negotiate with the government to free khaleda on parole.
Mintoo said : “Some people insist for negotiation to free our leader [Khaleda]. There is no need for such negotiation. We must fight to realize our rights.”
Another BNP veteran, who is also a BNP standing committee member, Goyeshwar Chandra Ray said student politics should not be outlawed, but politics of Chhatra League should be banned.
Goyeshwar said : “Banning student politics is a suicidal attempt. You [Govt.] should ban the politics of Chhatra League.”
He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent tour to India was not an official government tour. “She went there with the business people in a business convention (Indian Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum in Delhi). That is why she did not clarify to the nation what the agenda of the tour was and what kind of treaty would be signed.“ he said.
Goyeshwar criticized the prime minister for her statement that Bangladesh was giving water to India on humanitarian grounds. “Biswajit wanted water; Abrar wanted water before death. Where was your humanity at that time?” he questioned.
The BNP veteran also commented on the crackdown on corruption. He said: “Prime minister must take action against those who maintain close ties with her sister Sheikh Rehana.”
Leaders and representatives from the BNP-led 20-Party Alliance were also present at the rally, including Mia Ghulam Parwar, Nayeb-e-Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
Source: Dhaka Tribune.
