The politics of rivalry, vengeance and blame game pursued by the ruling Awami League (AL) and the BNP has entered a new phase of bitterness on Sunday as top leaders of both this parties branded each other’s chief as ‘killer’. Political analysts of the city feared that the country’s politics was heading towards ‘uncertainty and confrontations’ with further deterioration of relations between the two top leaders and two major political parties as well. BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has formally branded Prime Minister and AL President Sheikh Hasina as ‘a killer’, saying that, “She had taken lives of 500 youths.”Sheikh Hasina, addressing a memorial discussion meeting in the Bangabandhu Avenue on Thursday, said, “The then Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and some of her cabinet members were directly involved with the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on the AL rally.” “The Zia family is a killer family and BNP is a party of terrorists,” the Prime Minister alleged, adding “Zia (Ziaur Rahman) was involved with the August 15, 1975 killing of Bangabandhu while Khaleda Zia and her son (Tarique) had organized the August 21 carnage.” The August 21 attack left 24 AL activists, including senior leader Begum Ivy Rahman, killed and 1000 others injured.Refuting the Prime Minister’s allegations at a press conference, Mirza Fakhrul said, “Awami League is a killer party and its President Sheikh Hasina is also a killer. Her hands are stained with the blood of 500 innocent youths of the country.”Rejecting Mirza Fakhrul’s statement, AL Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif yesterday said, “Khaleda Zia should be tried for August 21 grenade attack since she cannot shrug off the responsibility of the carnage because she was the Prime Minister during that time.”Senior AL Presidium member Begum Sajeda Chowdhury at a discussion meeting in memory of Begum Ivy Rahman yesterday said, “Both Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman should be tried along with other criminals involved with the August 21 grenade attack.”Earlier, in the third week of June, the two top leaders of the country-Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia accused each other of their connection with Bangabandhu and Zia killings respectively. Both of them brought allegation against each other for ‘complicity’.Political analysts feared that the nation, including its economy, would have to pay dearly for the rivalry, vengeance and blame game, which should be stopped forthwith.
