Treason case out of vengeance in a bid to remove Khaleda from politics, BNP leader Fakhrul alleges

BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has alleged that the government has filed a treason case against party Chairperson Khaleda Zia out of “vengeance” in a bid to “remove” her from politics in Bangladesh.

Hours after a court on Monday summoned Khaleda in the case, Fakhrul made the allegation at a conference of the Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal.
 
“This is a case of political vengeance. They are scared of Khaleda Zia’s presence in Bangladesh politics and that’s why they want to remove her,” the BNP’s acting secretary general said.
 
Fakhrul served the warning that the people of Bangladesh would never accept such an attempt to push Khaleda Zia out of politics.
 
Mamtaj Uddin Mehedi, a Central Working Committee member of the Awami League and former secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association, after obtaining permission from the home ministry, filed the case against the BNP chief on Monday over her remarks on the number of martyrs in the War of Liberation.
 
Taking cognisance of the case, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court asked Khaleda Zia to appear before it on Mar 3 to explain her position.
 
At a discussion on Dec 21 last year, Khaleda had expressed her doubts over the actual number of martyrs in the Liberation War, saying that varied figures had been mentioned on different occasions.
 
Explaining her comment, Mirza Fakhrul said, “What did she say at that programme? There is no sign of treason in her remark. Rather, she had said there should be an accurate figure (about the number of martyrs) so that we could pay respect to the real martyrs. I had explained this to the nation through a statement.”

He said the treason case against three-time Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was “nothing but a farce.”

“Fabricated cases are being filed, one after another, against the leader of the nation.  The Anti-Corruption Commission had already filed a case against her and today a case of treason has been filed,” he added. 

Alleging that the ruling dispensation had “divided the country”, the BNP spokesperson said it was high time that people were united for country’s progress, for growth in their income and for the development of democracy.

“Terrorism cannot be tackled by blaming the opposition for it or by harassing people,” Mirza Fakhrul said.  

Terming BNP as a “liberal democratic” party, he said there was no place for communalism and terrorism in it

“Terrorism can be prevented only by taking along the oppositions and not by excluding them.”