BNP’s Salahuddin is in hiding to put pressure on govt, says shipping minister

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan has said BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed has been “kept hidden” to put the government in a tight spot.

Speaking to reporters before attending an interactive meeting at Kushtia on Friday, he asked those ‘who have kept him hidden’ to find him out.

“I believe you are creating pressure on the government by hiding him,” he said.

The minister held the views exchange meeting with transport leaders and workers at Kushtia district administration auditorium to discuss measures needed to prevent acts of sabotage and ensure road safety.

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, worker leaders Osman Ali, district Awami League General Secretary Azgar Ali, district JaSaD President Golam Mohsin, Transport Owners Association President Sadar Uddin and district Motor Workers Union President Mahbul Alam attended the meeting, among others.

Kushita Deputy Commissioner Syed Belal Hossain presided over it.

After the meeting, Inu told reporters: “The government is enquiring about Salahuddin. Raids were conducted at several places yesterday (Thursday).”

BNP Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed’s family alleged he was picked up by plainclothesmen on Mar 10 from Dhaka but the security forces have denied having either arrested or detained him.

He was functioning as party’s spokesperson after the arrests of acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Ahmed Rizvi.

Police searched several remote river islands on Brahmaputra in Gaibandha, looking for Ahmed after rumours spread that his body was found there.

Law enforcers, however, could not find anything in their search that lasted several hours.

At the meeting, minister Khan lambasted the BNP-led alliance for ‘unleashing subversive acts in the name of blockade and shutdowns’.

He said: “A mass movement waged to realise demands and unlashing violent terrorist activities are not same.”