For the second time in about a week, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia openly berated the senior party leaders for failing during street movements and stressed on the need to bring in young blood, yesterday.
“Our organisational strength is good. We have many leaders; but we also need to bring young leadership to the forefront. Then again, we need experience as well. The senior leaders will give advice. New leadership should come forward, otherwise organisational stagnancy will cripple the party. Old people cannot lead movements,” she said.
The former premier was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the two-day national council of Sramik Dal, BNP’s labour front, at the Institute of Engineers Bangladesh in the capital. The seventh council aims to elect new leadership today.
Once before, on April 12, when speaking at the council of Dhaka city unit Sramik Dal, Khaleda said new leadership would be brought to the forefront.
BNP leaders and activists believe that Khaleda’s eldest son Tarique Rahman – often referred to as the “symbol of youth” within party ranks – will head the party in future.
Tarique, who is facing a number of corruption charges, has been living in London since 2008. In recent times, after years of inertia, he has become active in the UK capital, trying to regain ground by delivering strong political messages.
His recent comments that his father Ziaur Rahman was the “first president of Bangladesh” and that Bangabandhu was an “illegal” prime minister, gave rise to huge controversy.
During yesterday’s programme, calling upon the government to arrange for a fresh national election as soon as possible, Khaleda said: “Democracy has been exiled. People cannot express their opinions freely because the government has killed it [democracy].”
Echoing her son, Khaleda claimed: “People know that Zia [her husband] was the actual leader of the war. When he was fighting on the battlefield, many [Awami League leaders] were watching plays at the Theatre Road [in Kolkata].”
Claiming that BNP was the real pro-liberation force, she said: “You [the government] are committing crimes against humanity every day. For this, you will be held accountable.”
The BNP chief then accused the government of abducting BELA chief Syeda Rizwana Hassan’s husband AB Siddique. “He was abducted in broad daylight. When protests arose from different corners, he was released. The illegal government has showed prudence by releasing AB Siddique, otherwise a movement could not be stopped.”
She also accused the government of extorting huge sums money in the name of helping the Rana Plaza victims
Source: Dhaka Tribune
