BNP senior leader Mirza Abbas on Saturday alleged that the government is making an evil effort to divert students’ anti-quota movement to a different direction by involving BNP with it.

Talking to reporters at BNP founder Ziaur Rahman’s grave, he also doubted whether the government has created this movement as part of a conspiracy against the country and its people.

“I don’t think it is necessary to cover up the real issue (quota reform) by saying BNP is with this movement. It’s their (govt’s) an evil strategy to divert the movement to a different direction,” Abbas said.

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He also said the demands of the students who are carrying out the quota reform movement are justified.

“We are afraid that whether the government is indulging in any misdeeds and hatching any conspiracy against the country by creating a movement by the students,” the BNP leader said.

The leaders of the newly formed partial committee of BNP’s Dhaka south and north city units, led by Abbas, went to the grave of party founder Ziaur Rahman.

They paid homage to Zia by placing a wreath at Zia’s grave and offered a munajat seeking the salvation of the departed soul.

BNP’s Dhaka North city unit Convener Saiful Alam Nirob, and Member Secretary Aminul Haque and South city unit Convener Rafiqul Alam Mojnu and Member Secretary Tanveer Ahmed Robinson along several thousand BNP leaders and workers thronged on the premises of Zia’s grave on the occasion.

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Replying to a question, Abbas, a BNP Standing Committee member, said their party’s now main challenge is to ensure the fall of the Awami League government. “If this government remains in power, the independence and sovereignty of the country will be jeopardised. The country must be saved from this brutal regime.”

He said they came to pay homage to Zia with all the newly formed committees of the Dhaka North and South and took a vow to free their party chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and restore democracy.

"Begum Khaleda is seriously ill. When our leader (Khaleda) is sick, the whole country becomes sick. We visit this grave (of Zia) today with the hope that the nation and the country will be freed from sickness,” the BNP leader said.

In response to another question, Abbas said no movement of the BNP has failed in the past as many of the party leaders and workers sacrificed their lives, got wounded suffered incarceration.

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“No movement of BNP has failed. On the contrary, the government has tried to thwart the movement by various tricks, conspiracies, and is still doing it,” Abbas said.

On July 7, BNP announced the partial convening committee of Dhaka North, South, Chattogram and Barisal Metropolitan city units, as part of the its move to overhaul the party and its associate bodies. 

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