Quader: BNP staged attack on Khaleda’s motorcade

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Sunday claimed the attack on BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s motorcade in Feni was staged by the party itself to tarnish the government’s image and garner media attention for her visit to Cox’s Bazar. “Both Khaleda Zia and her car were intact. So, who carried out the attack [on her motorcade]?” Obaidul asked the question, when speaking at a press briefing at Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka. On Saturday, the motorcade heading towards Cox’s Bazar for the BNP chief’s planned relief distribution for the Rohingya was attacked at Mohammed Ali Bazar near Feni. After the first few cars including the one carrying Khaleda had passed, a group of armed men attacked the motorcade and damaged 30 vehicles mostly those belonging to the press, said BNP Press Wing official Shamsuddin Didar who was in the motorcade. Some journalists were injured in the incident and their vehicles were vandalised by the attackers even after they had identified themselves. Blaming the ruling Awami League for the attack, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in his reactions accused Awami League men of carrying out the attack. Awami League General Secretary Obaidul, however, refuted the allegation, saying that the incident was a “staged attack” and the people know it very well. “Khaleda Zia went there by car instead of a plane. BNP men fought among themselves and are now trying to pin the blame on the government,” he claimed. Calling the incident a stunt to garner public and media attention, Obaidul, also the road transport and bridges minister, said: “She [Khaleda] wanted to see a mass procession in her support. But when she saw that was not happening, they ‘staged the drama’ with an aim to get a big media coverage.” He added: “BNP men did not face any problems until they reached Feni. A group of vandals attacked them all of a sudden, threw stones at their motorcade and vandalised vehicles carrying journalists. My question is why Awami League activists would attack the media. “We are aware of the fact that intercepting Khaleda by Awami League men will have a bad effect on our party. So, why will we knowingly cause damage to our party?” The minister also claimed that they are ruling the country in a peaceful manner.  The article was first published on banglatribune.com