BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman has now called Bangladesh’s founding president “Razakar”, a term which has become synonymous with a collaborator or traitor since the 1971 Liberation War.
The elder son of former premier and BNP chief Khaleda Zia made the remark at a programme at Atrium of London on Monday marking the Victory Day.
Tarique said Sheikh Mujib had accepted Yahya Khan as Pakistan's president and went for the national and provincial elections accepting his conditions.
He claimed that father of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Mujib never wanted an independent Bangladesh but a combined Pakistan.
"If Sheikh Mujib had started the war along with Bangali army officers on March 7, Pakistani soldiers would have been defeated and the loss of lives could have been lessened," Tarique said.
He claimed: "Its Mujib who is to be responsible for the losses. And we called him a Razakar after analysing the facts. We called him Pakbandhu on the basis of facts."
He claimed his father Ziaur Rahman, also former president and founder of BNP, had proclaimed independence and was the first president of Bangladesh.
Earlier on December 10, a Dhaka court issued an arrest warrant against Tarique Rahman in a defamation case for calling Bangabandhu "Pakbandhu."
Tarique has been in London since September 11, 2008 on medical grounds after securing parole in various cases.
He faces 14 charges, of which four, including the August 21 grenade attack case, are on trial and the rest are stayed.