LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan on Friday said the '1/11' episode was a deep-rooted conspiracy designed specifically to target Bangladesh and the BNP.
Addressing a discussion organised by the Narsingdi district unit of BNP as the chief guest, Moyeen Khan said the conspiracy was hatched because the BNP believes in nationalist policies and acts out of a deep sense of love for the country.
The discussion meeting was held at the Weaving Board Institute's auditorium in the Saheprotab area of Narsingdi town to mark the BNP's 48th founding anniversary.
In Bangladesh's political discourse, the military's intervention just eleven days prior to a general election on January 11, 2007 is referred to as '1/11'.
"Bangladesh and the BNP are synonymous," Khan said. "There was a blueprint during the One-Eleven period to remove the BNP and turn Bangladesh into a subservient state under others. As a consequence, today's Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was forced to live in exile for 17 years. However, justice has finally been served today."
The minister remarked that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is working tirelessly day and night to rebuild the nation from the ruins of the last 17 years of destruction. Emphasizing that the BNP does not believe in the politics of vengeance, Khan asserted that the party only seeks justice.
"Our Prime Minister has returned to Bangladesh after 17 years of exile and was elected prime minister through the direct votes of the people in a free, fair and neutral election," he said. He added that the government is fully committed to delivering fair and neutral local government elections, spanning from city corporations down to union parishads.
Presided over by BNP Joint Secretary General and Narsingdi-1 (Sadar) MP Khairul Kabir Khokon, the program was moderated by Narsingdi-3 (Shibpur) MP and District BNP General Secretary Monzur Elahi.
The event was also attended by BNP Self-Reliance Affairs Secretary and Reserved Seat MP Adv. Shirin Sultana, Raipura MP Engineer Ashraf Uddin Bokul, Narsingdi District Council Administrator Tofazzal Hossain Master, among other local leaders.