Tarique affair shameful: Qamrul

Food Minister Qamrul Islam says he is ashamed that Tarique Rahman is being allowed to go unpunished even after terming Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman an “illegal” prime minister.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 11 April 2014, 09:28 AM
Updated : 11 April 2014, 11:53 AM

He also said giving publicity to the BNP Senior Vice-Chairman’s statement was illegal.

“No Indian newspaper carries reports on Dawood Ibrahim but you (local media) publish statements of an absconding accused with a lot of importance,” the minister said at an event in Dhaka on Friday.

“The way his (Tarique’s) statements are published is not legal,” Qamrul said.

He said as a member of the Cabinet he was ashamed that no action had yet been taken against an absconder.

Barely two weeks after claiming his father and BNP founder, Ziaur Rahman, was Bangladesh’s first president, Tarique, son of party chief Khaleda Zia, dubbed the father of the nation an “illegal” prime minister.

Tarique, accused in a number of cases, including the Aug 21, 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally, has been living in London since 2008.

Qamrul said, “Tarique is not mad - as many imagine; his statements are well planned.”

He said the BNP and the Jamaat were working in tandem, spreading misinformation and distorting Liberation War history to sow confusion among the young.

“I’d request the information ministry to look into these falsehoods and bring sedition charges against Tarique Rahman,” Qamrul said.