BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said those who deny Ziaur Rahman’s contributions to the country’s independence are the anti-liberation elements.

“Those who deny Ziaur Rahman are against the independence of Bangladesh and they are the followers of Pakistan,” he said.

Also read: AL indulges in enforced disappearances to establish one-party rule: Fakhrul

Fakhrul made the remarks while speaking at Gazipur district unit BNP's biennial council at a convention centre in the city.

He said the current government has long been indulging in much more grievous misdeeds than Pakistanis. “The way Pakistani occupation forces obliterated democracy, killed people in 1971, the same way you have demolished democracy, snatched people’s rights.”

The BNP leader claimed corruption has now spread everywhere in the country. ”Opening the newspapers every day we only get the pictures of corruption. We’re against corruption and have sent a letter to the Anti-Corruption Commission.”

He alleged that corruption has reached such a level in the country that Tk 23,000 crore has been plundered in purchasing the Covid vaccines.

Referring to the Joydebpur BRT project from Uttara, Fakhrul said, the per kilometre construction cost of the road was Tk213 crores. “There’s no country in the world where it takes Tk213 crores to build one kilometre of road.”

Also read: Fakhrul seeks opposition parties’ unity to dislodge AL govt

He called upon all the political parties to get united to establish a pro-people and truly democratic government by defeating what he thought the current ‘monstrous’ regime.

The BNP leader urged his party colleagues not to be disappointed over the present bad time of the party as it will bounce back again. “Awami League has repeatedly tried to eliminate BNP. Even the Ershad government also tried to do the same. But BNP emerged all times from the debris like a phoenix bird with people’s love.”