STAFF REPORTER
 
Awami League (AL) joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif yesterday warned the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) that the people would give the party a befitting reply if it tries to create anarchic conditions while protesting the High Court verdict against Tarique Rahman.
The BNP senior vice-chairman was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment and fined Tk. 20 crore in a money laundering case recently.
Replying to a question at a press conference, Hanif said as the BNP knew its leader had no chance to winning the case, it is now saying that it would face the issue politically.
“It is a legal issue and the BNP should face it legally,” he said, while talking to reporters at party president Sheikh Hasina’s Dhanmondi political office after attending a joint meeting.
The joint meeting was held to work out the month-long programme that will be organised to mark the assassination of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The HC verdict has proved that Tarique Rahman is a corrupt person and a criminal, Hanif said.
“If the BNP creates anarchy in the name of holding protest rallies, people are ready to give it a befitting reply,” he said.
Replying to a question, he said the AL does not force anyone to quit politics. If Tarique Rahman has the courage to face the allegations made against him, he should come back from London, he added.
About the Jamaat demonstrations against terrorism and militancy, Hanif said, “The Jamaat is no longer a political party. People don’t want to see their movement over any issue in the country.”
About the proposal for national unity with the BNP, Hanif said there cannot be any unity with those who are involved in militancy and terrorism.
 “If we forge any unity with the BNP, terrorism and militancy will get a boost,” he added.
Hanif said the AL would hold a series of programmes marking the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.