The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party alleged on Friday that the ruling Awami League government was creating new political parties by hiring people abandoned by different parties using intelligence agencies and the money looted from the state.
‘No popular political party hires any leader from other political parties. Touts and bad elements in the rural areas do it to put their opponents in trouble, but Sheikh Hasina is doing this,’ said BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi while addressing a virtual press conference.
He said that opportunists intrude on different parties in various ways, and these people change their true colours when they get any scope to make their own gains.
‘During Ershad’s rule, we saw him form parties and government with these types of people. Sheikh Hasina is now following that evil approach,’ he added.
Rizvi said that Hasina had instructed the intelligence agencies to hire people from the BNP and like-minded parties by alluring them in various ways.
He also said the intelligence agencies were now taking people to parties with strange names, alluring them with money, and promising them a sure nomination and victory.
‘AL is forming combined forces comprising government forces and party people to resist the movement of the opposition parties,’ he said.
‘The AL government appointed their desired people to different posts of the state bodies, including the judiciary, administration, and election commission, and they were now implementing their agendas.’
Rizvi said a total of 428 centres of RAB were set up across the country to implement Sheikh Hasina’s master plan to hold one-sided elections and prevent people’s movements.
Referring to the resentment of the Indian politicians about Bangladeshis celebrating the defeat of India's cricket team in the World Cup final, he urged the Indian media and policymakers to find out the reason behind the growing anti-Indian sentiment in Bangladesh.
‘India is doing one-sided business in Bangladesh and taking remittances from the country, but Bangladesh cannot earn even one per cent remittance from India,’ he said.
The border between Bangladesh and India is one of the bloodiest in the world, he said, referring to the reports of Bangladeshi people’s killing regularly along the border with India.
Rizvi also alleged that the crackdown against the BNP continued and that the opposition activists had been allegedly facing torture in police custody.
He alleged that at least 290 more leaders and activists were arrested and a BNP activist was killed by AL activists in Sherpur, Bogura, in the past 24 hours ending on Friday evening, taking the arrest figure to 15,890 since October 28.
He alleged that 3,875 BNP leaders and activists have been arrested ‘illegally’ while three activists were killed since the announcement of the schedule for the 12th national elections on November 15.
