Deploring the arrest of its senior leaders, opposition BNP on Saturday
alleged that the government did it to implement its hidden agenda of
holding a unilateral election. “The government has arrested the
party’s top leaders to fulfill its covert wish and implement its own
agenda,” BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told a press
briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan central office. He said the
government has taken the move also to foil the opposition’s hartal by
terrorising its leaders and activists. Terming the government’s plan
a blunt arm to thwart the opposition’s movement, the BNP leader said
the government will not be able to suppress the opposition by
arresting and harassing senior BNP leaders. He claimed that
government’s action boomeranged as it geared up their movement and a
hartal-like situation has been prevailing across the country following
the arrest of the BNP leaders. “We strongly protest and condemn the
arrest of the senior leaders.” The BNP leader said the law enforcers
also raided the houses of a number of BNP leaders, including its
standing committee members, Jamiruddin Sircar, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar
Chandra Roy, Dhaka city unit convener Sadeque Hossain Khoka,
opposition chief whip Zainul Abedin Farroque, Dhaka district unit
president Abdul Mannan and party leaders Khairul Kabir Khokan,
Nasiruddin Asim and Shaheeduddin Chowdhury Anne. Rizvi said hearing
the arrest news of the senior party leaders, he had taken shelter at
the Jatiya Press Club on Friday night to brief the media about the
arrest of the leaders and give the party’s reaction. The BNP leader
said as he got in a microbus after coming out of the Press Club around
3:30 am, law enforcers chased him shouting ‘catch him, catch him’.
“I’ve, however, managed to enter the BNP central office dodging the
law enforcers.” He alleged that the law enforcers harassed the staff
of their party office asking them how Rizvi entered it. They also
asked the office staff to tell him to leave the office immediately.
“Under this circumstance, I feel insecure. I fear my life is at stake.
The life and security of our leaders and activists across the country
are also at stake amid the growing repressive acts, killing, arrest
and police remand,” Rizvi added. He sought cooperation from
journalists, human rights activists and lawyers for their safety. “We
won’t get security from this government.” “The last siren for the
fall of this regime has started ringing. People at village and union
levels have taken their preparations to ensure the fall of this
government,” the BNP joint secretary general added. Replying to a
question, Rizvi said the government is going ahead with its plan for
holding a lopsided election though it is speaking about dialogue. O
Friday night, plainclothes police detained BNP standing committee
members Barrister Moudud Ahmed, MK Anwar and Barrister Rafiqul Islam
Miah from the city’s Karwanbazar area as they came out of Pan Pacific
Sonargaon Hotel around 8:15pm. Later, BNP Chairperson’s adviser
Abdul Awal Mintoo and Khaleda’s special assistant Shimul Biswas were
arrested in front of her Gulshan residence at about 1am. – UNB
