The Awami League, being unable to deny Ziaur Rahman's role in the liberation war, is trying to implicate him in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's assassination, BNP Vice-Chairman and also Zia's son Tarique Rahman has alleged.
He made the allegation in a speech delivered at a programme in London that marked the BNP's 36th founding anniversary on September 1.
The ruling party is trying to create controversies by implicating Zia in the assassination, according to the speech delivered by late Zia's son Tarique.
He said: "They [Awami League] want to make controversies against Ziaur Rahman by implicating him in Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s assassination as they cannot deny his role in our liberation war.”
He said: “Such a leader like Ziaur Rahman is rare in the history of the world.”
During Bangabandhu’s assassination in August 15, 1975, Maj Gen Ziaur Rahman was a deputy chief of the Army Staff.
Tarique also claimed that Ziaur Rahman was the first ‘legitimate’ president of Bangladesh.
“Ziaur Rahman always said religion cannot be the ideology of politics. Religion can have its contribution over the politics. But it cannot be the basis of politics,” said Tarique Rahman.
The BNP senior vice-chairman said only nationalism can unite all the people of the country.
In a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Ziaur Rahman passed the green signal to the killing of Bangabandhu.
She said: "Zia rewarded the killers by awarding them designations, making them advisers, ambassadors and members of the parliament.
"Likewise, his wife [Khaleda] rewarded them in the same way. She made the killers of Bangabandhu members of the parliament."
Hasina said there is no doubt that those who rewarded the killers of Bangabandhu, have a close link to the killing.
