The BNP yesterday officially condemned its senior leader Moudud Ahmed’s controversial new book, claiming it was written to impress the government, only a day after party chief Khaleda Zia’s press secretary said there was nothing wrong with it.
In reply to a query during a press conference at the Nayapaltan office, BNP’s Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said Moudud had insulted Khaleda Zia by writing that she was more concerned about her family than party matters during the army-backed interim government’s regime.
However, at a separate press briefing in the capital yesterday, Moudud termed Rizvi’s remarks as unexpected and unfortunate. He claimed that the contents of his book was aimed at pointing the failures of BNP during that regime, not to impress anybody.
On Sunday, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan Sohel told the Dhaka Tribune that there was no problem with the observations that Moudud made in his new book. He also said the book had portrayed an accurate picture of the illegal activities of the caretaker government.
During yesterday’s briefing, terming Moudud a “fallen fellow,” Rizvi said: “He is an opportunist leader. He changed platform repeatedly. If Khaleda Zia made a mistake in 2007-08, then he [Moudud] should have resigned; but he did not.”
He said: “Now he is trying to impress someone and cash in on the opportunity... I think he has written it [the book] to save himself or his house which is inauspicious.”
A Dhaka court yesterday accepted the charge sheet against Moudud and his brother in a case filed on charges of grabbing a Tk300 crore government land in the capital’s Gulshan area. Moudud currently lives in a house on that land.
In his media conference, Moudud said: “I write books as a political scientist not as a partisan leader. I do not know if Rizvi has read the book. I think he will repent his comments after reading it... The book is about the time of Fakruddin-Moin U Ahmed’s government and how they had violated human rights.”
On Sunday, when the Dhaka Tribune asked if Rizvi had read the book, he said he had not; he had just heard about it. He also said he would make comments after reading it.
Moudud Ahmed, a standing committee member of the BNP, launched his new book titled “Bangladesh Emergency and the Aftermath: 2007-2008” at the Supreme Court Bar Association Auditorium in the capital on Saturday.
Former Dhaka University Professor Mahbub Ullah, who attended the launching ceremony, was assaulted by unknown miscreants after he had come out of the auditorium.
Apart from Rizvi, many BNP leaders also said it was typical of Moudud to make indecent statements.
A senior BNP leader, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune: “It is nothing new. He [Moudud] has always been a controversial person. His tendency to court controversy is well known to us, and to madam [Khaleda] as well.”
The leader also said Moudud Ahmed had written controversial things about BNP founder Ziaur Rahman and he was now doing the same thing against Khaleda Zia and her sons.
The book reads: “At that time [2007-08], the fate of her sons Tarique and Koko was the most important thing for Khaleda Zia. She was not ready to take part in any discussion until their freedom was ensured. She remained strong despite many different kinds of pressure. In those days, she was more of a mother than a leader of the people, BNP chairperson and a politician who was anxious about her sons’ freedom.”
In his book, Moudud compared the 2008 national election to a silent revolution. He said Sheikh Hasina grabbed the attention of 15 million young voters by taking a strong stance in favour of non-communalism and against militancy. Additionally, the promise for supplying rice at Tk10 per kilogram, free fertiliser and ensuring job for at least one member from each family encouraged people to vote for the Awmai League.
Moudud also wrote that the BNP government’s ill-rule, widespread allegations of corruption, ties with Jamaat, the rise of militancy and its connection with some BNP leaders, the power practice of Hawa Bhaban made voters turn away from the BNP.
In 1968, Moudud Ahmed served as a junior counsellor for Bangabandhu in the Agartala Conspiracy Case. In 1979-81, he was a member of the cabinet of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, the first military ruler of the country.
In 1985, Moudud broke away from the BNP with his followers and joined HM Ershad’s Jatiya Party. In the subsequent years under Ershad’s rule, he was a deputy prime minister, prime minister and a vice-president.
Just before the June elections in 1996, Moudud came back to the BNP. In 2001, when BNP came to power again, he was made the Law Minister.
