BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday alleged that the government is plotting to send Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus to jail out of vengeance.
"This is such a government, which does not know how to show minimum respect to virtuous people. Dr Yunus is the only person in Bangladesh who won a Nobel Prize. They (govt) are now working against him in a way that he will be thrown into jail,” he said.
Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader said a ruling party minister exposed the government’s move to imprison Dr Yunus by saying that even the President of America had to go to jail.
Fakhrul said the charges brought against the ex-US president and Dr Yunus are not the same.
"You (the government) are trying to send Dr Yunus to prison because of personal vendetta. You’re trying to send him to jail and victimise him by filing cases, bringing the charges against him because of enmity,” the BNP leader observed.
He slammed Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader for his comment that the BNP was trying to play an evil game to make a political gain by making Prof Yunus an issue.
“We have no reason to depend on Dr Yunus. We’re completely relying on the people of this country. We believe that the people of this country are the source of all power and the people will establish their government and change their destiny,” the BNP leader said.
He said their party is going to people to encourage them to come forward to bring a change in the government.
“Why don't you want to hold the election under a non-partisan neutral government? The reason is that you know very well that if you do that, you won't even get 10 seats,” Fakhrul said.
The discussion programme was arranged by pro-BNP student leaders of Ducsu and All Party Students Unity (Apsu) of the 90s at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) on the occasion of unveiling the cover of a book on the mass uprising in the 90s against autocratic ruler HM Ershad.
The book was written by Aman Ullah Aman, a member of the advisory council of the BNP Chairperson and a former VP of Ducsu.
Govt out to jail opposition leaders promptly
Fakhrul alleged that the government is trying to send its opponents to jail quickly to secure its illegal power. "Their (govt’s) intention is clear. They want to jail all those who oppose them, those who are not on their side and those who are asking them to quit. They’re moving fast in that direction.”
He alleged that the Ministry of Law has created a cell instructing it to quickly identify all the sensational cases against opposition leaders so that those can be disposed of very quickly.
The BNP leader lamented that thousands of BNP leaders and workers are roaming around the balcony of courts every day as they have been facing ‘false’ political cases. "This can’t be the scene of any democratic country.”
He also feared that the government may send him to jail in the days to come as the trial proceedings of a case filed against him are being completed hurriedly.
"The trial of one of my cases started a few days ago. I think I will have to go to jail like Aman within a month or two. Their purpose is clear. They won't keep anyone out (of jail).
The BNP leader alleged that the government is establishing a completely one-party ruling system by destroying the hopes, aspirations and dreams of the country’s people.
He called upon the young generation to come forward to save the country from autocracy and restore democracy as the student leaders, led by Aman Ullah Aman, did in the 90s through a struggle.
Fakhrul said the current ‘fascist’ regime is 10 times deadlier than the autocratic government in the 90s. “The young people have to come forward with a lot of courage to eliminate this fascism…we must take to the streets, braving the fear of death and imprisonment. If we can do it, they (ruling party) won’t find an exit route.”