BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has alleged that Awami League is the beneficiary of the August 21 grenade attack cases, claiming that the leaders of his party were not involved in the incident.
"The verdict in the August 21 cases is likely to be given on Wednesday. Though there has been much discussion over the verdict of the cases, there has been no effort to unearth facts. I can confidently say no BNP leader, including Tarique Rahman, Abdus Salam Pintu, and Lutfuzzaman Babar, had any involvement in the attack," he said.
Speaking at a discussion program arranged by Shaheed Jihad Smrity Parishad at Dhaka Reporters' Unity (DRU) on Tuesday, the BNP leader also said, "Every murder has its own motive. Who is the beneficiary of the incident? It is surely Awami League, who are trying to destroy BNP by making this attack an issue."
He claimed that the government implicated BNP senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman in the case over political motives, adding that the case became political when retired police officer Abdul Kahar Akanda was given charge of it.
The BNP leader said the government has destroyed the country's judiciary. "Former chief justice SK Sinha told the Voice of America on Tuesday that there is now no rule of law in Bangladesh, and that the lower judiciary has been seriously affected by the government’s control."
Mentioning that the nation is now facing a serious crisis, Fakhrul called on the people to take to the streets. "There's no alternative to taking to the streets. Nobody will put us in power and remove the current regime unless people come forward. Ousting a fascist regime is very difficult, and we must do it with the help of the people."
Fakhrul further said BNP has been working to unite political parties, important individuals, and the public to ensure a fair election on the path to restoring people's rights.
On September 18, Judge Shahed Nuruddin of Speedy Trial Tribunal 1 set October 10 as the date for the verdict in two cases filed over the grenade attack on an Awami League rally in the capital in 2004 August 21.
