Independence in peril: Khaleda

Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia on Thursday said national independence and sovereignty was in ‘peril’ as hegemony was expanding its tentacles. In a message marking the 134th anniversary of birth of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, she said democracy in the country had been buried after the incumbent ‘repressive’ government grabbed power through the farcical election of January 5. Khaleda said her party would be able to resist the ‘aggressive forces’ if people were inspired by the patriotic zeal and courage of Maulana Bhasani who, she said, had first heralded the independence of the country. She said Bhasani’s struggle against all autocratic rules from the British colonial period to the post-

independence  Bangladesh and his contribution to protecting democracy, independence and sovereignty would remain a source of inspiration for the people. BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at a programme on the day said an ‘irresistible’ movement would have to be launched for an inclusive election under a non-party neutral government. Speaking at a training workshop for Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal, BNP’s women wing, at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, Fakhrul said Awami League was afraid of holding a mid-term election as it knew that its candidates would lose their deposits in the polls. Fakhrul demanded withdrawal of the warrant for arrest of BNP senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman. Presided over by Mahila Dal president Noor-e-Ara Safa, the function was also addressed, among others, by  BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Ganashasthaya founder Zafarullah Chowdhury and Mahila Dal general secretary Shirin Sultana

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