Veteran Awami League lawmaker Suranjit Sengupta on Thursday suggested the Law Minister to immediately file sedition cases against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and other top BNP leaders for violating the constitution through their recent remarks.
“The BNP chairperson, her son (Tarique) and other top BNP leaders should be accused of sedition and the Law Minister should immediately file cases against them. He (Law Minister) could enact a precise law to this end, but there is no bar in filing cases,” he said.
“There is such a provision according to the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC),” Suranjit said, reacting to BNP Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman’s recent remarks against Bangabandhu while participating in general discussion on the thanksgiving motion on the President’s speech in Parliament.
He said that if the top BNP leader and her son are not put on trial for sedition, the nation would have to suffer one day. “An uneducated youth and a former uneducated Prime Minister are now talking against the Constitution, which is sedition.”
The senior AL lawmaker said: “If anyone questions the Constitution following its 15th amendment, it will be considered as sedition.”
Mentioning the attacks on the Buddhist community in Cox’s Bazar by the ‘BNP-Jamaat followed by successive attacks on Hindus’, he alleged that the aim of the BNP-Jamaat is to free the country from Hindus, Buddhists and Christians.
Citing census reports, Suranjit said that the Hindus were 13.5 percent of the country’s total population in 1974, which later witnessed a declining trend – 12.1 percent in 1981 and 8.5 percent in 2001.
“They’re (Hindus) leaving the country in silence. If this problem is not attended to, there would be a great crisis,”
He further alleged that the BNP-Jamaat alliance wants to turn Bangladesh into a militant country for which the top BNP leaders are delivering various statements. “They’ve threatened the very existence of an independent sovereign state,”
“Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is a part of the Constitution and speaking against him is also violation of the Constitution,” the former Minister said adding that Bangabandhu became the country’s first president as the unprecedented and elected leader of Bangladesh following the proclamation of independence on March 26, 1971.
Apparently referring to the BNP chairperson and the top BNP leaders for supporting Tarique’s recent remarks about Bangabandhu, he said: “Those who would deny the Constitution would have no right to stay in Bangladesh; they could no longer hold their citizenship. They would have to abide by the Constitution if they want to stay in Bangladesh.”
About Tarique’s claim that his father Ziaur Rahman was the first President of Bangladesh and Bangabandhu was an illegal Prime Minister, Suranjit alleged that there is a deep-rooted political conspiracy behind this as BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and her party leaders, who are lawyers, are backing the statements of Tarique.
“They want to take Bangladesh back to Pakistan period…the BNP-Jamaat-Shibir nexus wants to take Bangladesh to such a naked, militant and rightist position with the help of ISI,” he said.
Citing the recent singing of the national anthem during the ‘Lakho Kanthe Sonar Bangla’ programme, the ruling party lawmaker said that now the top BNP leaders have perceived that it would not be possible to turn Bangladesh into a terrorist and militant country.
“There are two challenges ahead for the present government – gaining people’s trust and ensuring good governance,” he said, adding that if the senior Cabinet members continue to exchange harsh words, it would hinder ensuring good governance.
Source: UNB Connect