BNP senior leader Moudud Ahmed on Friday alleged that the government has tarnished the judiciary’s image by sending Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on ‘forced’ leave.
“The Chief Justice is the symbol of justice and the judiciary. He is an institution who represents the independence of the judiciary. The government has dented the dignity and image of the judiciary with what it did with whim,” he said.
Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader further said, “Today, I won’t say anything more about it (CJ’s leave). I’ll talk about it in the days to come as I think many things are still left to happen.”
Democratic Movement, a pro-BNP platform, arranged the programme at the Jatiya Press Club.
Moudud, a BNP standing committee member and a former law minister, said people from all walks of life, including students and farmers, except a few ones, sacrificed for the country’s Liberation. “The main reason of the government’s hostility against the chief justice is his observation that the country had been liberated with the efforts of all, not by only an individual.”
He said Sinha’s factual observation has made the government angry at him.
Turning to the Rohingya issue, the BNP leader called upon the government to engage the United Nations in forcing Myanmar to take back its citizens took shelter in Bangladesh in the face of persecution in their own country.
He said the government should ensure sufficient relief and other services as much as possible for those fled Bangladesh from Myanmar on humanitarian ground. “At the same time, we must take steps to repatriate Rohingyas and their influx.”
Moudud opposed the decision of Bangladesh and Myanmar to form a joint working group to start the repatriation process of all the Rohingyas staying in Bangladesh, saying it will not yield any positive outcome without direct involvement of the UN.
He said the government should reach an understanding with Myanmar under the supervision of the UN to send the Rohingyas back to their own country.
The BNP leader warned that if the government fails to resolve Rohingya crisis and repatriate the Myanmar citizens, it will affect Bangladesh’s economy and cause social disorder and security and other problems. “We don’t want to see it.”
He said the government has failed to make strong diplomatic efforts to resolve the Rohingya crisis.
Moudud called upon the government to take the issue seriously and forge a national unity to overcome the national crisis.
