Holding Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina responsible for the August 21 grenade attack, BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman has claimed that she was well aware of the attack.
He said: “None but Hasina herself is responsible for the attack and deaths as she was aware about the attack and let it be taken place.”
He made the allegation while addressing a seminar on “Strategies for Prosperous Bangladesh” at Queen Mary University on Sunday.
Terming Sheikh Hasina a “so-called Prime Minister,” he said: “She knew about the attack. That’s why she shifted the rally venue.”
“Why did she shift the pre-scheduled rally to Bangabandhu Avenue from Muktangon just one-and-a-half hours before the rally was set to start?”
Referring to Bangabir Kader Siddiqui's speech during the JS session on 15 September, 2004, he said: “My claim is authintic as the Bangabir also raised the same question during a JS session. It is just one example; many others have questioned the sudden decision of Hasina.”
“We can check media reports on this.”
In response to the recent remarks of the PM on Zia family, he said: “Sheikh Hasina's family is a killer family.”
He also placed some incidents of killings during Bangabandhu and Hasina's regimes in a bid to support his claim.
While addressing a programme, marking the August 21 attack, Prime Minister said: “Zia was behind the August 15 attack and Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Zia were behind the August 21 attack.”
“Zia family is a killer family.”
Tarique Rahaman is a fugitive among 19 of the 52 accused in a case filed against them of trying to kill Sheikh Hasina in a grenade attack on a grenade attack on an anti-terrorism rally of Awami League at Bangabandhu Avenue that left 24 people dead and over 500 others injured on August 21 in 2004.