BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Wednesday said the late Begum Khaleda Zia, thrice-former prime minister and matriarch of the BNP, was killed through a conspiracy and described her as a martyr.
“Since the Ershad regime and throughout Hasina’s 17 years of unbearable fascist rule, various conspiracies were hatched to remove her from the world. Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and Begum Khaleda Zia were also killed through conspiracies. She too is a martyr,” he said.
Rizvi made the remarks while briefing journalists after a joint meeting at the BNP central office in Nayapaltan in the afternoon, ahead of the party’s 48th founding anniversary.
He said the two of them had relentlessly struggled for the nation, its people, democracy, the right to speak and freedom of expression, and that every effort had been made to remove both of them from the world.
Recalling the history of BNP, Rizvi said the party was founded by “a rare man” who inspired a misguided nation by declaring independence for the liberation of the motherland.
Rizvi said Ziaur Rahman’s assassination also dealt a blow to democracy, as within a few months Hussain Muhammad Ershad came to power and democracy was subsequently killed.
Against this backdrop, he said, Ziaur Rahman’s wife, the “extraordinarily courageous” Begum Khaleda Zia, took charge of BNP to restore democracy.
“She led BNP through movements and struggles. Begum Khaleda Zia turned BNP into pure gold by putting it through fire. She herself was tortured and persecuted, and numerous false cases were filed against her,” Rizvi said.
Rizvi said BNP had developed into a broad-based political organisation under the influence of the two leaders.
“From one end of the country to the other, BNP has a strong base in different localities. Across Bangladesh, BNP has become a strong organisation,” he said.
According to Rizvi, this was BNP’s greatest achievement and the reason why the party could not be defeated or forced to surrender despite severe repression, torture and fascist oppression.
He said BNP had consequently become a popular political party and had played an “extraordinarily nationalist and patriotic” role in every sphere, including domestic and foreign policy.
“We believe in strengthening our own sovereignty and protecting our own independence. We do not want any other country to be subjugated, and we respect the independence of other countries. Similarly, we want other countries to respect our independence and sovereignty,” Rizvi said.
He said BNP is now widely respected because of this ideology.
Among those present at the joint meeting were BNP Chairman’s Adviser and Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Abdus Salam; Joint Secretary Generals Khairul Kabir Khokon, Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel and Abdus Salam Azad; Water Resources Minister Mohammad Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee; and leaders and activists of BNP and its affiliated and associate organisations.