Police’s attitude towards BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia augurs ill for democracy, says Bikalpadhara Bangladesh chief AQM Badruddoja Chowdhury. He went to meet the Khaleda, whose Gulshan office has been cordoned off by police since Saturday night, around 12pm on Sunday, but the police prevented him from meeting her. “I am a senior citizen and a former president. I was not allowed to meet (Khaleda). “The way the police is confining Khaleda Zia is a bad sign for democracy,” he told reporters outside the BNP chief’s Gulshan office. Earlier late on Saturday, police cordoned off Khaleda Zia’s office amid rising political tensions between her party and the ruling Awami League over the first anniversary of the Jan 5 general election that the BNP-led coalition had boycotted. Police reportedly stopped her from leaving the office twice. The three-time former prime minister was stopped around 11pm when she wanted to visit BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi who had fallen sick at the Naya Paltan central office. Then around midnight she tried to leave for home but was stopped again. For the first time, the BNP chief had to spend the night at her Gulshan office. Meanwhile, detective police picked up Rizvi and has reportedly taken him to a hospital for treatment.They also searched the headquarters and locked it up. — bdnews24.com
