BSS :
Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Friday said there is no evidence of existence of Zia’s body in capital’s Chandrima Udyan.
“Three bodies were recovered from a grave in Rangunia . . . But none of which included Ziaur Rahman’s body,” the minister, also ruling Awami League joint-general secretary, told this while exchanging views with journalists at his official residence here on Friday afternoon.
Replying to a query of newsmen about the prime minister’s remarks in the Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament), Dr Hasan said, “I am a man of Rangunia, where the BNP claims that Zia was first buried. The then Rangunia upazila chairman Zahir Saheb is still alive and he said three bodies were recovered from there, but there was no body of Zia.”
“Besides, Ershad Saheb and Mir Shawkat, who was very close to Ziaur Rahman, both said they had not seen Zia’s body there,” he mentioned.
About PM’s remarks on this issue, Hasan Mahmud said the premier rightly pointed out that none saw Ziaur Rahman’s body there.
Asked about the removal of the grave from Chandrima Udyan, the information minister said, “Demanding for a grave without any body is like cheating with the people as well as it is an act against the rules and regulations of Islam. People raised questions whether there is any reason to keep the grave without the body.”
Referring to the recent remark of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir that AL is torturing BNP for staying in power permanently, Hasan said, “Awami League believes in the power of the people . . . It will run the country as long as the people want.”
He said people are satisfied with leadership of PM Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and Awami League as well in the way the country has tremendously achieved progress in the last 13 years.
