Govt misleads people on Aug 21 grenade attack: BNP

Govt misleads people on Aug 21 grenade attack: BNP

Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Thursday alleged that the prime minister and some ruling party leaders are making ‘futile’ efforts to mislead people with their ‘false’ propaganda involving Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman with the August 21 grenade attack on an Awami League rally.

Speaking at a press briefing at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, party senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi also accused Awami League of trying to make a political gain by ‘disgustingly using’ the gruesome attack carried out in 2004.

‘The prime minister is saying Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman had involvement with the incident. As it’s so, they’re supposed to flee the country after such a massive incident. But they didn’t do that. The prime minister and her party’s some leaders are resorting to brazen falsehood and propaganda, and making pointless efforts to confuse people. But the truth can’t be suppressed,’ he said.

On Wednesday, prime minister Sheikh Hasina said a heinous incident like August 21 could not have taken place in broad daylight without the patronage of the then BNP-Jamaat coalition.

Rizvi said Awami League has been doing ill-motivated politics since the beginning of the grenade attack incident. ‘This incident was part of a deep-rooted blueprint...the real offenders could have been got exposed had there been a fair and neutral investigation into the incident.’

He claimed that Tarique Rahman was implicated in the incident in the name of a supplementary charge sheet and convicted through a ‘dictated’ court verdict. ‘They did it with a political motive as part of their master plan and a deep-rooted plot.’

The BNP leader alleged that Awami League is doing a ‘foul’ politics to destroy and belittle Tarique.

He also claimed people believe that the story made by the ruling party about the involvement of BNP and Tarique Rahman with the August 21 grenade attack false. ‘People have got surprised and shocked seeing such disgusting politic by Awami League.’