At least five people were injured in a bomb attack inside the auditorium of the National Press Club immediately after the inauguration of the Jatiya Party’s(Zafar) special council on Friday afternoon. Kazi Zafar had announced the special council after he was expelled from the Jatiya Party by party chairman HM Ershad on November 28. The Juba Sanghati, a youth forum of the JP, announced that it would hold a rally in front of the National Press Club on Thursday to foil Zafar’s council. Friday’s incident took place when some unidentified miscreants hurled five home-made crude bombs in the
auditorium. The bombs exploded, leaving five injured, when Kazi Zafar Ahmad was in the dais. The injured persons were identified as Bijoy Sarkar of Tongi, Billal Hossain of Munshiganj, Abdul Matin Talukdar of Munshiganj, Ershad Ahmed, Jatiya Juba Sanghati leader of Mirpur, and Shapan Mahmud of Kuril in Dhaka. They were admitted to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
Kazi Zafar Ahmed, chairman of JP (Zafar), Dr AQM Badruddouza Chowdhury, president of Bikalpa Dhara, Lt. Gen. (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman, standing committee member of BNP, ASM Abdur Rob, president of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, and Kader Siddique, president of Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Janata League strongly condemned the incident.
The leaders of different political outfits, who attended the council, blamed the government for the explosion.
Expressing solidarity with the BNP-led 18-Party movement, Kazi Zafar Ahmad said they will be on the streets until the government met their demands for holding a free, fair and credible election under a non-party caretaker government.
At least 152 innocent people were killed since the election schedule was announced, Kazi Zafar said. “About five crore people have been deprived of their voting rights as 157 candidates have already been elected before the election is held. This government will be remembered for its eccentricities in the history of Bangladesh,” he said. Dr AQM Badruddouza Chowdhury, a former president, termed the Prime Minister’s remark on Thursday on holding the polls by dissolving 10th Parliament as a ‘bait’. “I am sure the main opposition BNP would not accept this bait. I will give up politics, if the BNP accepts the PM’s bait,” he said.
The Prime Minister does not understand the language of democracy, he also said.
“The government has robbed the voting rights of the people by electing candidates unopposed. The people won’t accept such elections. No instance can be found in the world where a government has not fulfilled a single demand placed by the opposition,” he added.
Lt. Gen. (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman said the government has failed to ensure security for the people. The BNP leader urged the government for holding a fair election under a non-party government.
Bangabir Kader Siddique said the government has become bankrupt both politically and morally. “The people don’t want the Hasina government now,” he added. Slamming the government for admitting a physically fit HM Ershad to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), he said the incident has tarnished the army’s image.
“Parliamentary seats are being doled out like relief materials.
The poll result has been leaked before holding the elections like a woman giving birth to a child out of wedlock,” ASM Abdur Rob said. The spirit of the Liberation War lies not in protecting the interest of others, he also said.
-With The Independent input
