The Awami League joint general secretary, Mahbubul Alam, on Monday accused the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of spreading canards over the casualties in police operation at Shapla Square in Motijheel. He also lashed out at the BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, for inciting Hefazat men. Referring to the allegation of the BNP standing committee member, MK Anwar, who on Monday said that hundreds of Hefazat leaders and activists were killed by law enforcers during their operation to oust HIB activists, Hanif said the BNP leader was resorting to falsehood to mislead people.
Claiming that law enforcers had disbanded Hefazat leaders and workers from the city peacefully, Hanif said not a single Hefazat leader was killed during the operation. Mahbubul Alam Hanif, also a special assistant to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, addressed a news conference at the party’s Dhanmondi office, to protest against the BNP propaganda and falsehood and the BNP-Jamaat-Hefazat-sponsored anarchy.
On Sunday, thousands of Hefazat-e-Islam’s leaders and workers demonstrated in the Shapla Square area with their 13-point demands that include restoring the Arabic phrase “absolute faith and trust in Allah” to the country’s charter.
However, Mahbubul Alam asked BNP leader MK Anwar to provide documents before the nation that the law enforcers and armed ruling party leaders had killed hundreds of leaders and activists of the Hefazat-e-Islam on Sunday night.
“How can you spread such falsehood about the country’s law-enforcement agencies? If you fail to provide documents in this regard, you will have to face trial in the near future,” Hanif said.
Branding BNP leader MK Anwar as a “psychiatric patient”, the Awami League leader asked him to retire from politics. He also said that the BNP leader is spreading lies in a bid to unite people against the government. Calling the BNP leader a “liar”, he said people do not want to see a politician like Anwar.
At a separate press conference at the party’s Bangabandhu Avenue office, Hanif blasted BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia for urging her party workers as well as city dwellers to stand beside the Hefazat-e-Islam. He alleged that Khaleda had instigated the Hefazat workers to carry out destructive activities.
-With The Independent input
