Rizvi: PM’s remarks indicate something murky going on behind the scene

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi suggested on Wednesday that “something suspicious” might be going on behind the scenes of the ruling Awami League given Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent comments about her time spent in jail during the caretaker government of Fakhruddin Ahmed. “Why did the prime minister bring to the fore the chapter of political changeover in 2007, after this many years?” Rizvi said at a press briefing at the party’s Naya Paltan headquarters in Dhaka on Wednesday. “She came to power with the support of that caretaker government (so) why has she suddenly started speaking against it? Perhaps something shady has been taking place behind the scenes.” On July 16, 2007, the Awami League president and prime minister was arrested from her Sudha Sadan residence in Dhanmondi after the military-backed caretaker government assumed power amid the 1/11 political changeover. She was released from a special sub-jail set up on the premises of JatiyaSangsad building on June 11, 2008, ending her 11 months’ captivity. On Tuesday, Hasina told a discussion event in the Krishibid Institution auditorium in Dhaka that those who were behind her arrest would be “held accountable”. “The then BNP-led government carried out attacks and torture in the country, but the caretaker government arrested me first,” Hasina said. “I know who had me arrested. They will be held accountable.” Turning to the “Minus Two” formula, Rizvi alleged: “Sheikh Hasina travelled abroad for treatment after being released from jail. Upon returning home, she said her party would legitimize the Fakhruddin administration’s actions, if voted to power. “Not only did the prime minister legitimize their extra-constitutional actions and granted them impunity, but also she ‘awarded’ them. So, what has happened now, for which she has started slamming them?” The “Minus Two” formula was a much-talked-about issue in the country’s political arena in 2007 and 2008, when the military-backed interim government had reportedly tried to send Hasina and BNP chief Khaleda Zia into exile in an attempt to exclude them from politics. Rizvi, who is a member of BNP’s National Standing Committee, said their party and the people are asking a question as to why the ruling Awami League, despite knowing all these things, stays silent and has refrained from taking actions against those who illegally grabbed power in January 2007. “Taking Khaleda Zia to jail in a ‘politically motivated false case’, this government is now playing a foul game to implement a ‘Minus One’ formula. But, they will never be successful in their bid to keep her out of politics,” he said.

BNP rally in Dhaka: Permission comes after postponement

BNP on Wednesday postponed its rally planned for Suhrawardy Udyan today, as Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) delayed responding to its three petitions for permission. Rizvi told reporters that the DMP authorities had not given them permission by 4pm on Wednesday. “Organizing such a big event within a short timeframe is not possible (so) we decided to postpone the rally,” he said. Hours after the program was postponed, DMP granted BNP the permission to hold the rally at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh on Friday. “We allowed BNP to hold its rally at IEB on Friday,” said DMP Commissioner M Asaduzzaman Miah, adding that the police grant permission for rallies after “threat assessments” on the basis of intelligence reports.  Sections of this article were taken from banglatribune.com