report in Prothom Alo, May 23, 2017
The sudden raid on Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson’s Gulshan office has given rise to suspicion and tension among the party men. The policymakers of the party think that there might be three reasons for the raid. They also think that the raid might be a political strategy of the government.
A number of senior BNP leaders think that the government was passing on the message through the raid that BNP will not be spared at any cost.
Some of the leaders think that government once again is trying to keep BNP out of the elections, and the raid is part of that strategy.
Many think that the raid was conducted to provoke the party men and refrain BNP from peaceful politics and to break the morale of the party.
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia in her twitter on Sunday said, “Using police to raid opposition party office without any cause is exactly the kind of nasty politics we want to remove from the country.”
Government and Awami League (AL) sources meanwhile said that the raid on Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office was not politically motivated. The government has nothing to achieve politically through the raid. That is why the law enforcers denied finding anything in the raid.
Top-level AL sources said the ruling party is embarrassed following the unsuccessful raid and blame intelligence failure for the incident. However, the government is not willing to blame the law enforcers. The government policymakers were in no doubt about the intelligence during the BNP office’s drive following some successful anti-militant drives based on intelligence information.
None of the AL leaders however wanted to speak with Prothom Alo on the issue.
Obaidul Quader in a programme on Sunday said the law enforcers raided BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office based on intelligence information.
BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed said the government has become desperate, and not wanting a healthy politics in Bangladesh.
He also said that the government is again planning to hold the next polls unilaterally.
The main motive behind the raid is to keep BNP away from the polls and harm the country’s democratic environment, he added.
Some of the BNP leaders think that the raid was conducted to thwart the high morale of the party which had been boosted by chairperson Khaleda Zia’s the recent Vision 2030.
Another standing committee member Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain the drive is conspiracy of the government to pressurise BNP chairperson and to demoralize the party men. However, it had an opposite reaction and the government is now embarrassed, he added.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir meanwhile at a press conference on Sunday said the aggression at a time when the BNP begins the notion of exercising peaceful democratic practices, and presented Vision 2030, is a provocation and a conspiracy to destroy democratic future.
Meanwhile, secretary of Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Sujon) Badiul Alam Majumdar said it is unfortunate that such a drive was conducted at the office of a political party chief, who was also elected as prime minister thrice.
Now the role of intelligence and the law enforcement agencies are in question, he added.
Home minister’s resignation demanded
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir during a press conference at BNP’s Nayapaltan office on Sunday demanded resignation of the home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, terming the police raid illegal.
The BNP secretary general also said his party men were facing mass arrests around the country.
Supreme Court Bar Association president and BNP vice chairman Joynal Abedin during the press conference also quoted Sections 96 and 103 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and said the police raid was not conducted as per these sections.
“So, it is illegal.”
He said lawyers are scrutinising different aspects of the event to see if they would go for a legal action for the raid as well.
Demo protesting Khaleda office raid
BNP on Sunday observed countrywide demonstrations protesting the police raid on the party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office on Saturday.
According to the reports, police barred the party men from holding the demonstrations in 12 districts of the country.
Several activists and leaders of the party were injured in clashes with police in different districts of the country including-Dhaka, Jhalakathi, Faridpur, Pabna, and Barisal.
BNP rally on 24 May
BNP is likely to stage a rally in the capital on 24 May protesting the raid on party Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office on Saturday.
Sources said BNP leaders during the party’s standing committee meeting at the Gulshan office last night with Khaleda in the chair, decided that the rally will be held at the Suhrawardy Udyan.
If the party does not get the permission, processions would be held in the capital and other parts of the country on 25 May.
However, the party is yet to make any formal announcement of the demonstration. http://en.prothom-alo.com/bangladesh/news/148829/BNP-suspicious-AL-embarrassed
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