Awami League general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam has strongly protested BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Saturday’s remark about singing the national anthem and her plan to stage an anti-government uprising. Addressing the biennial conference of a faction of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFJU) at the Jatiya Press Club in the city, the BNP chief on Saturday said, “We’ll teach this government a lesson…spending over a hundred crore taka for singing the national anthem won’t be enough to save it.” Khaleda’s comment came days after Bangladesh had marked this year’s Independence Day on March 26 singing the national anthem by more than 300,000 people in a bid to make a world record. Syed Ashraful Islam in a statement on Sunday said, “By delivering the speech, former Bangladesh Prime Minister and opposition leader Khaleda Zia has hurt Bangalees’ spirit, demeaned Bangladesh’s national anthem, made an evil attempt to trample the identity of Bangalees….” Referring to Khaleda’s claim that AL men who claim to be freedom fighters only crossed the border into India as refugees, Ashraf, also LGRD and Cooperatives Minister, said, “Calling freedom fighters who received training in India as refugees, she (Khaleda) made an evil attempt to disparage them socially.” Over Khaleda Zia’s threat to stage the world’s biggest anti-government popular uprising to find a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, the AL leader said, “The present democratic government is not afraid of any kinds of threats.” – UNB
