Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday warned that the opposition leader would be implicated as principal accused in the cases filed for killing people and burning the holy Quran during Hefazat-e-Islam’s Dhaka-siege programme.
“Khaleda Zia was the mastermind and [she] instigated the violence. So she would be made accused for giving orders,” said Hasina, also the ruling Awami League president, while addressing the party’s grassroots leaders of Feni district at her official residence, Ganabhaban.
The premier asked Khaleda to come to the path of democracy and to avoid destructive activities and killing innocent people. “The opposition leader only knows how to destroy. But the people of this country do not want to see such a destroyer. She [Khaleda Zia] should realise it,” she added.
“[If you think] you will kill people...hatch conspiracy to topple the government and set fire to the Quran and the government will sit idle...then you are wrong,” Hasina said.
She alleged that Khaleda had planned to grab state power utilising the Hefazat movement, which is why, she issued the 48-hour ultimatum. “But her ultimatum ended in failure. Nothing will happen through ultimatum and enforcing general strikes. You will not be able to make people perplexed by telling a blatant lie,” Hasina said.
Referring to the Dhaka-siege programme, the premier said Hefazat did not keep its promise as it promised to leave the venue after Asr prayers. “But the BNP leader requested them to stay at the venue saying that the government would be toppled if they stay there for one more day,” she alleged.
Clarifying the government's strong position against the miscreants, Hasina said the government would bring the culprits to book after identifying them through the video footages.
Muslims always keep the holy Quran in the safest place, the premier said, “But they burned it…I do not know whether such a huge number of copies of the holy Quran had ever been burned in the past?”
Referring to the BNP's falsehood about the killing of some 2,500 people and hiding of bodies, Hasina questioned whether it was possible to kill so many people during a 10 minute or 30 minute operation and to hide the bodies using trucks.
Police claimed that they recovered seven bodies from Motijheel after the raid was carried out in the wee hours of Monday.
AL leaders Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Satish Chandra Roy, Food Minister Abdul Razzak and LGRD State Minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak were also present among others at the meeting. Feni district AL President Abdur Rahman addressed while General Secretary Nizam Uddin Hazari placed the organisational report.
The former Feni unit general secretary and also a former AL lawmaker, Zainal Hazari attended the programme. The party in 2005 expelled him on charge of anti-organisational activities.
Sources present at the meeting confirmed that the local leaders of Feni criticised Zainal without mentioning his name and claimed that Feni was more peaceful than before. They also requested the party president to nominate the party candidates for the upcoming national elections on the basis of aspirations of the local leaders and activists.
