Govt move to relocate Zia's grave is a 'blueprint to wipe him out', BNP alleges

The government 'blueprint' to relocate Ziaur Rahman's grave is nothing but an attempt to 'wipe out' his name, the BNP has alleged.

The party's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said the people 'will not allow' any move to relocate the grave from the parliament area.

Mirza Fakhrul was speaking to reporters after placing wreaths at the BNP founder Zia's grave on Friday, a day after the arrival of the original design of the parliament building from the University of Pennsylvania by US architect Louis I Kahn.

"We think this is a blueprint of the government. Its main objective is to wipe out president Ziaur Rahman's name," he said.

Zia came to power after a military coup in Aug 15, 1975 in which Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members were killed.

Zia himself was assassinated in an abortive coup on May 30, 1981 and his grave was relocated from Chittagong to the parliament area. The BNP, the party he founded in the late 1970s, was in power at the time.

Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain recently said all the graves, including Zia's one, would be relocated after getting Kahn's original plan.

Zia's Swadhinata Padak or Independence Award was also withdrawn recently.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mirza Fakhrul said Zia's name is 'engraved in people's hearts'.

"The people will not accept the withdrawal of the award and the move to relocate the grave. These are thoughtless moves," he said.

He also alleged the cases against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia were aimed at keeping her away from politics.

The BNP chairperson on Thursday pleaded not guilty in a case over graft related to the Zia Charitable Trust.

The design of the parliament complex, the brainchild of the reputed US architect Kahn, was over time violated by several other establishments in the parliament area.

The remains of late president Abdus Sattar, former prime minister Ataur Rahman Khan, former minister Mashiur Rahman Jadu Mia, late writer-journalist-politician Abul Mansur Ahmed and Pakistan National Assembly speaker Tamizuddin Khan are interred in a graveyard at the west-southern boundary of the parliament complex.

Among the graves are those of Khan A Sabur and Shah Azizur Rahman, both of whom collaborated with the Yahya Khan junta and opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Pro-liberation groups and activists have been demanding that their graves should be removed from the area that houses Bangladesh's Parliament.