UNB, Dhaka :
Dismissing BNP’s allegation that the government is trying to split its alliance, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu on Sunday said the 20-party partners are deserting it to save them from the grip of Khaleda Zia’s misguidance.
“It’s a blatant lie that the government is trying to split the 20-party alliance providing money.
Those who joined the alliance for democracy are quitting it getting frustrated with Khaleda,” he told reporters at his Secretariat office.
“The 20-party partners could realise that Khaleda Zia is a protector of militancy and she does politics of conspiracy. So, her alliance partners are coming out of the BNP-led camp one after another to save them from the grip of Khaleda Zia’s misguidance,” he added.
About Monday’s hartal called by the BNP-led alliance, Inu said there is no necessity or logic to enforce a general strike over the 16th amendment. “No provision was incorporated in the Constitution through the amendment to have power to hamper the freedom of judges.”
The amendment was made to include the provision of removing Supreme Court judges on the ground of only moral degradation. “They’ll hand down judgements independently like they did earlier. So, the actual reason behind the hartal call is to cooperate with and support Jamaat shutdown.” he added.
On September 17, Parliament passed the 16th amendment to the Constitution empowering itself to remove Supreme Court judges for proved ‘misconduct’ or ‘incapacity’.
The BNP-led 20-party alliance announced a daylong countrywide general strike for Monday protesting the 16th constitutional amendment empowering parliament to remove Supreme Court judges.
Earlier, Jamaat Islami enforced a 48-hour hartal in two phases demanding the release of its leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee who was jailed unto death by the Supreme Court commuting his capital punishment for his crime against humanity during the country’s 1971 Liberation War.
