Describing the remand order against its five leaders as the manifestation of the government’s vindictive and dirty politics, opposition BNP on Thursday demanded their unconditional release.
“Influencing the court, the government has sent our senior five leaders to jail. This remand has exposed the government’s vindictive and dirty political game against the opposition,” said BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
He came up with the allegation at a press briefing at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office.
Earlier in the day, a CMM court here allowed eight days’ remand for each of the five arrested senior BNP leaders — Barrister Moudud Ahmed, MK Anwar and Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah, BNP chairperson’s adviser and former FBCCI president Abdul Awal Mintoo and her special assistant Shimul Biswas — rejecting their bail prayers in two cases of vandalism, arson and attack on police.
On the night of November 8, plainclothes police arrested the BNP leaders from the city. They were shown arrested in the two cases filed with Motijheel Police Station on November 5 and September 24 for vandalism, arson and attacking policemen.
Demanding withdrawal of the remand order, Rizvi warned the government that people will give a befitting reply to its ugly repressive acts to subdue the opposition.
Rizvi said that the government wants to weaken the opposition’s ongoing movement for holding election under non-party government through its oppressive acts. “We want to clearly state that the leaders and activists of 18-party won’t retreat from the movement in the face of such repressive acts,” he said.
The BNP leader blamed the government ‘agents’ for carrying out acts of sabotage, including killing, torching and vandalising of vehicles during hartal hours called by the opposition alliance.
“Recently, crude bombs were blasted in various important places apart from the houses of prominent personalities and opposition leaders. We think government-supported administration and persons in the intelligence were involved with the incident. They’re working as government agents,” he added.
He also found similarities between the subversive actives now happening and atrocities carried out by Awami League in 1994-96.
“We’ve heard that a large number of law forcers have been deployed in Dhaka from many parts of the country with a view to suppressing the opposition. Intelligence agencies are working round the clock. It was clear to people who’ve torched buses, and exploded crude bombs in the houses of the prominent persons amid this type of security arrangement,” Rizvi said.
Source: UNB Connect
