Affirming that she is ready to face any consequence, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Thursday reiterated that the ongoing movement of her party-led 20-party alliance will continue until it reaches its desired goal. In a statement signed by BNP vice chairman Selima Rahman, Khaleda said, “A movement is going on with an aim to restore democracy in the country through holding a free, fair, inclusive and peaceful election. We’ve called the movement as per hopes and aspirations of people and it will continue until it yields a logical outcome.” She also voiced her optimism that their movement will surely reach the desired goal. Having failed to come out of her Gulshan office to attend a scheduled rally of the alliance, Khaleda enforced a countrywide non-stop transport blockade which is still in force. Khaleda said, “I would like to equivocally reiterate that we don’t do bad politics over people’s lives and we don’t have any link to the politics of killings and dead bodies. We won’t pursue such heinous and brutal politics either.” Mentioning that Awami League had killed people by torching a bus with gunpowder and with oars and sticks in the past, she alleged that it is also now brutally killing innocent people. She warned that the government’s bad politics of shifting blame on the opposition for acts of sabotage in a bid to suppress them will not turn successful, “the people of Bangladesh are not so fool.” Khaleda alleged that the government has demonstrated a cruel attitude to her before she overcame the shock she got following the death of her younger son Arafat Rahman Koko. The BNP chief alleged that the government is trying to make her isolated from her party men to create pressure on her. “But I want to clearly say that I won’t bow down to any unethical pressure and intimidation. I’m ready to face any circumstance and consequence. Khaleda claimed that 33 opposition leaders and activists have so per been killed by the law enforcers since the 20-party’s transport blockade began on January 6. Besides, she claimed that hundreds of opposition leaders and activists were injured and over 17,000 others arrested by the law enforcers across the country during the period. The BNP chief alleged that a number of people, including women and children, were killed while many others injured in petrol bomb attacks on public vehicles during their blockade programme despite strong vigil by the law enforcers. Khaleda said it is a burning question as to how miscreants hurl petrol bombs at public vehicles and escape arrest after committing the atrocious crime despite presence of huge law enforcers on the streets. “We strongly condemn such vicious attacks on innocent people. We express our deep sympathy to those were killed and injured. We renew our call to find out the real perpetrators of such heinous and brutal attacks and mete out exemplary punishment to them.—UNB, Dhaka.
