Cases against BNP leaders
Bid to hold another one-sided polls: BNP
STAFF REPORTER
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) yesterday accused the government of filing absurd cases against its top leaders, including secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, as part of its plan to hold another one-sided election. The government is going ahead with a blue-print for holding another one-sided election in the country. We think that filing of cases against our senior leaders is the first step towards implementing their ill-motive, said BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi at a press conference. He strongly condemned the arrest of party leaders and activists and implicating them in false cases. He said the government has exposed its intention of holding a stage-managed and unilateral election by filing the cases. Its also clearly manifested that it doesnt want a participatory election, he added.
The BNP leaders comments came a day after Hatirjheel police filed cases against 55 leaders and activists, including BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul, for making provocative remarks against the government. A sub-inspector of Hatijheel police station, Shariful Islam, filed the cases on Monday, a day after the BNP held a public rally at Suhrawardy Udyan.
The BNP leaders who have been sued include standing committee members Moudud Ahmed, Mirza Abbas, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan and Nazrul Islam Khan, senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and joint secretary general Amanullah Aman. Rizvi termed the Hatirjheel cases as false, fabricated and totally conspiratorial, saying the government is using brutal repressive acts as weapons to suppress BNP leaders and activists. The government has repeatedly been indulging in such a dangerous game even after knowing that its fall is certain, he observed.
He said the police had pre-planned formats of the cases. They should first arrest the BNP leaders and activists and then frame various charges, he added. Expressing concern about such cases and arrests, Rizvi demanded immediate withdrawal of the cases and release of the arrested leaders.
He alleged that the police are forcefully implementing the governments anti-people polices on the public. They (police) are being used as weapons of repression against BNP leaders and activists. The government persists in such dangerous games despite knowing that its end is near, he said.
He criticised Prime Ministers ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy for questioning the ethics of the Editors Council as they are raising their voice against the Digital Security Act. Rizvi said the Digital Security Act has been enacted to gag the media and peoples voice. BNP leaders Toimur Alam Khandaker, Khairul Kabir Khokan, Habibul Islam Habib, Abdus Salam Azad and Abul Kalam Azad were present at the press conference.
