BNP on Friday claimed that their apprehension of manipulation any election under Awami League-led administration has proved right with the recent remarks of PM’s adviser HT Imam about the January-5 polls.
“We’d said earlier that Awami League was trying to hold an election with a political motive to perpetuate its power by using the Election Commission. Our allegation has proved right with HT Imam’s remarks,” said BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
He said this as reporters drew his attention to the PM adviser’s comments at a press conference at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office.
The press conference was arranged to inform the decisions of the BNP standing committee members’ meeting held on Thursday night at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office.
Earlier on Wednesday, HT Imam, addressing a BCL programme at Dhaka University, said, “You (BCL men) just pass the written test, we’ll see how much we can help you with the viva voce. Our leader (Sheikh Hasina) has told us to arrange jobs for you by any means.”
He also pointed out the advantage of having party men in the administration, and how the AL benefited from them.
“Days before the January 5 polls, many pro-AL officials were inducted in mobile courts that helped the government resist the BNP-Jamaat’s bid to thwart the election. They (pro-AL officials) stood beside us,” Imam said.
Fakhrul briefed the reporters about the BNP standing committee meeting’s decisions and the proposals made there.
He said the BNP policymakers strongly denounced the inclusion of the names of BNP leaders Sylhet City Corporation mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury and Habiganj mayor GM Gaous in the supplementary charge-sheet by the CID in the ex-Finance Minister SAMS Kibria murder case.
The BNP spokesman alleged that their party-backed public representatives are being implicated in various cases with a political motive to cripple the party leadership.
The CID on Thursday submitted a supplementary charge-sheet against 32 people, including former State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s political secretary Harris Chowdhury, Sylhet City Corporation mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury and Habiganj Mayor GM Gaous, in the Kibria murder case.
Senior Assistant Superintendent Meherunnesa Parul of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge-sheet incorporating the names of 11 more accused in the last supplementary charge-sheet before a local court in the afternoon.
Five people, including former Finance Minister Kibria, were killed and 70 others injured in a grenade attack on a public meeting of local Awami League at Baidder Bazar in Sadar upazila on January 27, 2005.
Though former BNP State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s political secretary Harris Chowdhury were implicated in the case, Fakhrul did not make any comments about it.
He said their party thinks the government is implicating BNP leaders, including its chairperson and senior vice chairman, in ‘false cases as part of its heinous plot to illegally cling to power and suppress the party’s democratic movement.
The BNP leader warned that the consequences of such acts will not be good.
Fakhrul said the BNP standing committee members also deplored the government’s denial of permission for holding their scheduled rally at Suhrawardy Udyan on November 8 and the police attacks on their demonstration programmes at different parts of the country.
The BNP policy makers also protested and condemned the ‘derogatory remarks by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu’ and other ministers and Awami league leaders against BNP founder Ziaur Rahman.
He also said they are on a movement against the government and will announce tougher programmes in due time to force it to hold a fresh inclusive election under a non-party administration.
“It’s wrong that BNP is not on the movement. We’re on the movement and will remain there so. We’ll oust this regime in time together with people,” Fakhrul added.
Source: Prothom Alo
