Rizvi: Quader has forgotten how to speak truth

Accusing Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader of regularly spreading false information about BNP, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Saturday said the ruling party leader has forgotten how to speak the truth.

“Surrounded by police and Rab, Obaidul Quader holds a press conference every day to present absurd and imaginary stories, slandering BNP,” the BNP leader added.

Speaking at a press conference at the party’s Nayapaltan central office, Rizvi also said Quader has been trying to malign the Zia family with his regular “false campaign” against them. "He (Quader) has forgotten the truth by telling lies. When people see him on television, they change the TV channel.”

Rizvi, senior secretary general of BNP, questioned why the government spreads “false” propaganda about BNP when it has been ruling the country for over a decade by “controlling” all the state machinery and institutions.

He alleged the government has been trying to suppress people through repressive acts, including enforced disappearance, kidnapping, killing, rape and terror.

The BNP leader said although party chief Khaleda Zia is now staying at her Gulshan house, she is not free at all. “Although the government has said her sentences have been suspended, various restrictions have been imposed on her.”

He said the government has kept Khaleda under house arrest as it fears her popularity. “We demand her immediate complete release."  

Meanwhile, BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy slammed Obaidul Quader for regularly criticising BNP, saying the Awami League General secretary has been uttering dictated words against BNP like a caged bird.   

Speaking at a doa mahfil, he said Awami League’s political condition is worse than BNP’s but the party cannot take advantage due to the ruling party’s support from state machinery. “They are now repressing us using the administration, but they will be unable to protect themselves if they come under attack.”

Claiming that “Sheikh Hasina is more terrible than coronavirus,” Gayeshwar said she is the “only one” in Bangladesh who properly maintains health safety rules by always staying at home.

He said the current government itself is now at the ICU after being infected with a disease more dangerous than coronavirus.

The BNP leader said the country is also in very bad shape now due to the current government’s misrule. 

“There was a time when many sick people in our country hardly visited a doctor until they turned unable to move. They went to a doctor when there was no treatment for their illness. I think the country is now at that stage,” he said.

He urged all political parties and people of all walks of life to unite and put aside previous enmities to protect the country from “the government’s misrule.”

Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal arranged the program seeking the speedy recovery of Khaleda Zia, and Covid-19 positive standing committee members Mirza Abbas, Nazrul Islam Khan and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku.