AL an institution of learning falsehood: Rizvi

Dhaka Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Monday termed Bangladesh Awami League an institution of imparting training on ‘how to carry out falsehood’.

He said this while reacting to state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam’s claim that the BNP’s exiled acting chairman Tarique Rahman relinquished his Bangladeshi nationality.

The BNP leader, at a press conference at the party’s Naya Paltan central office, also challenged the state minister to prove that Tarique surrendered his passport.

Addressing a reception hosted by the UK Awami League in honour of prime minister Sheikh Hasina in London, Shahriar claimed that Tarique, living in London, gave up his nationality by handing over his Bangladesh passport to the UK Home Office almost four years ago.

“That the Awami League is a centre of excellence of learning and telling lies has been proven once again. The state minister for foreign minister, Shahriar Alam, is a member of the centre. It [AL] literally gives training on how to tell a lie. So what else can he [Shahriar] learn from there [AL]?” Rizvi told the press conference.

He alleged the state minister resorted to falsehood only to appease the prime minister of illegal government and AL president Sheikh Hasina, who was also present on the occasion.

In reference to a remark of Sheikh Hasina’s niece and British MP Tulip Siddique: “I am not a Bangladeshi”, Rizvi said Tulip proudly loves to be a British national, not a Bangladeshi.

“Only those who take various high positions abroad surrender their nationality. Most of children and relatives of the prime minister [Hasina], including her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, have married foreigners and staying abroad although she always speaks highly of Bangla and Bangladesh.”

Rizvi said none from the Zia family got married with any foreigners or accepted foreign nationality.

He said the party may take legal action against the state minister for foreign affairs for his “falsehood”.

Throwing a challenge to the claim of the state minister for foreign affairs, Rizvi said, “We challenge the Bangladesh high commission to show Tarique Rahman’s Bangladeshi passport if he really surrendered his passport. The high commission functions under the government. So they are not being able to show the passport.”