The BNP on Tuesday cast doubt over Thursday’s dialogue between the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Jatiya Oikyafront leaders as the court increased the party Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s jail term.
“Enhancement of Khaleda Zia’s punishment after invitation for a dialogue
between the government and the Jatiya Oikyafront created doubt among the people about the outcome of the discussion,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said this in a prompt reaction at the party’s Nayapaltan office.
The BNP leader said that the enhancement of Khaleda Zia’s punishment had stunned the party.
“The verdict is the reflection of the government’s will. It also created doubt among the party men over fruitfulness of the dialogue,” he said.
The High Court enhanced Khaleda’s jail term to 10 years from five years in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.
Mirza Fakhrul said, it seems that the government is not honest about holding an inclusive national poll.
“They want to keep Khaleda Zia away from election and politics. They also want to exclude BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman from election and politics. There is the government’s vendetta here. It is also their political and personal vengeance,” he said.
The party would stage human chain in front of the National Press Club on Wednesday from 11:00 am to 12:00 noon. It will also observe a token hunger strike at Engineers Institute or Mohanagar Natya Mancha subject to the police permission.
Mentionable that these two programmes were called on Monday to protest Khaleda Zia’s seven years jail verdict on Zia Charitable Trust case.
The next programme will be announced from the Jatiya Oikya Front’s Friday’s rally in the capital.
BNP Standing Committee Members Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy and Vice-Chairman Major (rtd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, among others, were present at the conference.
