AL made state a ‘monster’: Fakhrul

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday said their ailing party chairperson Khaleda Zia had not been released from jail despite being granted a bail by the High Court.

He alleged the government was conspiring to keep the former prime minister away from the countrymen and politics.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader made the remarks while speaking at an Iftar party in the city’s Bijoynagar. Bangladesh Labour Party hosted the event.

"This monster government, which has taken the people to a hostage like situation, has to be ousted through a movement," Fakhrul said.

"We have to form a national unity to restore democracy and to return democratic rights to the people," he added.

"The BNP chair will be freed through a movement," he also said.

The controversial election commission has to be reconstituted and the army has to be deployed in the national elections,

Fakhrul further said, demanding the election be arranged under a neutral caretaker government.

Dwelling upon Khaleda’s illness, the BNP secretary general said it is not in the jail code that a prisoner will only be treated in government hospitals.

He said the party and her family had already said they would bear her treatment cost.

Delaying Khaleda’s treatment means risking her life, he said, hoping that the government would take immediate step to admit her to the city's United Hospital for Khaleda's better treatment.