BNP acting secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Wednesday alleged that former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was killed as part of a conspiracy and described her as a martyr.
“Since the Ershad regime and throughout Hasina’s 17 years of unbearable fascist rule, various conspiracies were hatched to eliminate her. Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and Begum Khaleda Zia were also killed through conspiracies. She too is a martyr,” he said.
Rizvi made the remarks while briefing journalists after a joint meeting at the BNP central office in Naya Paltan in the afternoon, ahead of the party’s 48th founding anniversary.
He said Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia had relentlessly struggled for the nation and its people, democracy, the right to speak and freedom of expression, adding that repeated efforts had been made to eliminate both of them.
Recalling the history of BNP, Rizvi said the party was founded by “a rare man” who inspired a misguided nation by declaring independence for the liberation of the motherland.
He said Ziaur Rahman’s assassination also dealt a blow to democracy, as Hussain Muhammad Ershad came to power within a few months and democracy was subsequently dismantled.
Against this backdrop, he said, Ziaur Rahman’s wife, the “extraordinarily courageous” Khaleda Zia, took charge of BNP and led efforts to restore democracy.
“She led BNP through movements and struggles. Begum Khaleda Zia turned BNP into pure gold by putting it through fire. She herself was tortured and persecuted, and numerous false cases were filed against her,” Rizvi said.
He said BNP had developed into a broad-based political organization under the leadership of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia.
“From one end of the country to the other, BNP has a strong base in different localities. Across Bangladesh, BNP has become a strong organization,” he said.
Rizvi said this was BNP’s greatest achievement and the reason the party could not be defeated or forced to surrender despite severe repression, torture and fascist oppression.
He said BNP had consequently become a popular political party and played an “extraordinarily nationalist and patriotic” role in every sphere, including domestic and foreign policy.
“We believe in strengthening our own sovereignty and protecting our own independence. We do not want any other country to be subjugated, and we respect the independence of other countries. Similarly, we want other countries to respect our independence and sovereignty,” Rizvi said.
He said BNP is now widely respected because of this ideology.
Among those present at the meeting were BNP Chairman’s Adviser and Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Abdus Salam; Joint Secretary Generals Khairul Kabir Khokon, Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel and Abdus Salam Azad; Water Resources Minister Md Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee; and leaders and activists of BNP and its affiliated and associate organizations.