Drama of anti-militancy drive staged to divert attention from movement: Fakhrul
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has alleged the government has staged an anti-militancy drive in a bid to divert people's attention from the one-point movement.
He said, "From where did so many explosives appear all of a sudden? How and who brought those? When the movement is taken to the peak, the drama of militancy takes place then."
Mirza Fakhrul made these comments at a discussion at Dhaka Reporters' Unity on Sunday.
The discussion was organised by Bangladesh Krira Unnoyon Parishad (Bangladesh Sports Development Council) to mark the 54th death anniversary of Arafat Rahman Koko, younger son of late president Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Saturday arrested 10 people including the wife of a physician in a drive on suspicion of a militant hideout in the hill-side areas of Moulvibazar.
Different materials including three kg of explosives and 50 detonates were recovered from the militant hideout.
Pointing to the militancy drive, Mirza Fakhrul said the government is an evil strategist. The anti-militancy drive was conducted all of a sudden at Kulaura. What a dreadful thing--so many explosives and detonators, he added.
Alleging that the anti-militancy drive was staged in a bid to divert people's attention from the one-point movement, Fakhrul said, "When the movement is taken to the peak, the militancy drama is staged. The government will show the western world that militancy cannot be suppressed if the current government does not stay in power. The government has reached such a level by staging dramas."
The BNP leader described the weak state of education, health and sports sectors.
He said ten to twelve people die of dengue every day and children are undergoing treatment on the hospital floors.
"The government has undertaken so many development projects. Why is the situation so bad? The government has no accountability to the people. The people are going through hardship due to the price hike of essentials," Fakhrul said.
The BNP leader alleged the leaders and activists cannot sleep and even those who are not involved in politics are not spared. If a BNP activist is not found, his father or brother is picked up, he added.
The BNP secretary general said, "We have one demand, a fair election. We want the elections under a neutral caretaker government. Awami League knows they will not get ten seats if the elections are held under a caretaker government. This is the reason they are not considering the demand."
Mirza Fakhrul said, "Many said, why do you always smile? The reason is, I see that this repressive government leaving. The people want the fall of this government. Be confirmed, a change is coming and the change must come."
The BNP leader said Arafat Rahman has become a victim of political vindictiveness. A culture has appeared to treat everything politically. A competent person is also deprived of. This has happened in Arafat's case.
Bangladesh Krira Unnoyon Parishad president Abdus Salam presided over the meeting.
He said there was no rivalry in the sports sector when BNP was in power. There is unrest in every sector, he said.