Staff Correspondent
The BNP secretary general, Khandaker Delwar Hossain, on Wednesday said that with the election day approaching, ‘new situations’ were being created with an ulterior motive.
The BNP-led alliance on Wednesday staged demonstrations across the country in protest against the ‘attempt’ on the life of the alliance chief Khaleda Zia.
‘With the day for the ballot nearing, new events are taking place and new situations are being created’, Delwar told a press conference at a press conference at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office on Wednesday.
The press conference was organised after an alleged attempt to kill Khaleda Zia in Comilla Tuesday.
The ‘assassination attempt’ was made to leave the people without leadership as there is a ‘wave of mass support’ for the BNP-led alliance under the leadership of Khaleda Zia, he said.
‘The attempt was seemingly well-planned to kill Khaleda Zia as the incident [of the seizure of grenades from a place two kilometres from Khaleda’s meeting venue] was preceded by the distribution of leaflets by [outlawed militant organisation] JMB against BNP.’
‘Soon after the January 11, 2007, political changeover, there have been several attempts to implement the minus-two theory in the name of reforming the political parties with an aim to prevent a possible mass upsurge against the conspirators’, he said.
Delwar demanded proper enquiry into the incident and exemplary punishment of those involved. He also demanded increased security measures for Khaleda.
BNP’s joint secretaries general Mirza Abbas and Nazrul Islam Khan, office secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed and Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish faction leaders Maulana Ishaque and Ahmed Abdul Quader, Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Jasim Uddin and Tasnim Alam, were present at the press conference.
BNP’s major ally Jamaat-e-Islami also held a separate press conference at its central office in protest against the ‘attempt to kill Khaleda Zia’ and against the ‘attacks’ on their election campaigners across the country allegedly by the activists of the Awami League.
Jamaat’s assistant secretary general Abdur Razzak spoke at the press conference.
BNP’s central protest rally was organised in front of the party’s Naya Paltan central office. Mirza Abbas presided over the meeting and Rizvi Ahmed spoke. They led a procession joined by several thousand party activists.
Jamaat held a separate rally and a procession at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram, the national mosque, protesting at the ‘attempt’ on Khaleda’s life.
A protest rally, organised by the Chittagong city unit of the party in Laldighi Square, was marred by clashes between rival groups loyal to central joint secretary general of BNP Abdullah Al Noman and former city mayor Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin.
The clashes broke out at about 4:00pm, police and witnesses said.
Mir Nasir was whisked away to safety by police after supporters of Noman pounced on him when he was going to attend the rally, according to a senior police official.
Shamsul Alam, the BNP nominee for Chittagong 8 electoral constituency, who was present at the rally, ran away fearing attacks, police and witnesses said.
When contacted, Mir Nasir said that elements acting against unity in the party had unleashed terror at the rally.
He blamed the faction led by Abdullah Al Noman for the incident. Leaders of the Noman-led group, however, denied the charge.
The Mir Nasir-led group held a separate rally in protest at the ‘attempt’ on Khaleda’s life.
Courtesy: newagebd.com
