BNP to announce action programmes for Khaleda Zia’s release

BNP to announce action programmes for Khaleda Zia’s release

BNP on Saturday decided to announce action programmes at different divisions by a month in a bid to intensify its movement for having its chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia freed from jail.

BNP standing committee took the decision at a meeting at party chairperson’s Gulshan office.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “Our meeting has decided to take different programmes to strengthen the movement demanding the release of our chairperson Khaleda Zia. The programmes will be given at all the divisional cities by four weeks.”

He said their party senior leaders will attend the programmes.

Besides, the BNP leader said, their party’s Dhaka city units and their different associate bodies will also observe various programmes demanding Khaleda Zia’s release.

Asked about the nature of action programmes, he said they will announce democratic programmes like rallies and demonstrations.

Fakhrul alleged that the government is creating obstacles to the legal process to deprive Khaleda Zia of getting bail.

The BNP secretary general alleged that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made ‘untrue’ remarks in Parliament involving Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal with the pillow scam’ in Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant’s housing project.

“The Prime Minister said Engineer Masudul Alam of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project was the Vice-president of Buet Students’ Union from JCD. It’s a blatant lie. She made an untrue comment standing in Parliament,” he said.

Fakhrul claimed that Engineer Masudul Alam was a student of Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (Kuet), not that of Buet.

“We’ve collected his (Masud’s) all information. He was a student of Kuet’s Civil Engineering department. He had never any involvement with the politics of Chhatra Dal. Probably he has link with a left student body,” he added.

The BNP leader also claimed that Masud is now involved with pro-ruling party engineers’ body. “Making such untrue remarks in Parliament by a Prime Minister is unexpected and unacceptable.”

On June 17, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the House that the man involved in alleged irregularities in purchasing pillows and other household appliances for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant's housing project once belonged to BNP's student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD).

"We've some information about him. He had been involved with Chhatra Dal at Buet," she had said.

Fakhrul said their standing committee meeting strongly condemned picking up of former state minister for home affairs Sohel Taj’s nephew Syed Iftekhar Alam Sourav by ‘law enforcers’.

He said their meeting also expressed deep concern as the government cannot give any information about the missing BNP leaders, including Ilias Ali, Pervez Alam Hiru and Chowdhury Alam, though Sohel Taj’s nephew was finally rescued.

Two newly appointed standing committee members -- Selima Rahman and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku --joined the meeting.

After over three years of the party’s national council, BNP on Wednesday announced that Selima and Tuku were appointed its standing committee members.