‘AL misleading people by falsehood over 21-Aug grenade attack’

BNP on Thursday alleged that the prime minister and some ruling party leaders are making ‘futile’ efforts to mislead people with their ‘false’ propaganda involving Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman with the 21 August grenade attack, reports UNB.

Speaking at a press briefing at BNP’s Naya Paltan central office, party senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi also accused the Awami League (AL) of trying to make a political gain by ‘disgustingly using’ the gruesome attack carried out in 2004.

“The prime minister is saying Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman had involvement with the incident. As it’s so, they’re supposed to flee the country after such a massive incident. But they didn’t do that. The prime minister and her party’s some leaders are resorting to brazen falsehood and propaganda, and making pointless efforts to confuse people. But the truth can’t be suppressed,” he said.

On Wednesday, prime minister Sheikh Hasina said a heinous incident like the 21 August grenade attack could not have taken place in broad daylight without the patronisation of the then BNP-Jamaat coalition.

Hasina said the then prime minister Khaleda Zia was not made accused though she had extended direct cooperation in this regard. “She was the prime minister as well as the home minister at that time. She cannot evade her responsibility.”

Rizvi said the AL has been doing ill-motivated politics since the beginning of the grenade attacks. “This incident was part of a deep-rooted blueprint…the real offenders could have been identified had there been a fair and neutral investigation into the incident.”

He claimed that Tarique Rahman was implicated in the incident in the name of a supplementary charge sheet and convicted through a ‘dictated’ court verdict. “They did it with a political motive as part of their master plan and a deep-rooted plot.”

The BNP leader alleged that AL is doing a ‘foul’ politics to destroy and belittle Tarique.

He also claimed people believe that the story made by the ruling party implicating BNP and Tarique Rahman with the incident is false. “People have been surprised and shocked seeing such disgusting politics by Awami League.”