United News of Bangladesh

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday thanked the government for detaining former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque, who he said caused great harm to the country by misusing his position. Talking to reporters in front of the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, he also demanded exemplary punishment for the ex-chief justice so that no one in the future can harm the nation by abusing such positions. “We thank Allah that one of Bangladesh’s major enemies who caused serious damage to the nation while holding a high position is finally held (by law enforcers),” he said. From his position as Chief Justice, Fakhrul said Haque was responsible for determining the fate of Bangladesh, but he resorted to deception. He said the ex-Chief Justice deceived both the people and the state through the verdict he delivered on the caretaker government system. The BNP leader said there was a huge difference between the short order he gave regarding the caretaker government and the full judgment that came later. “We believe that even the short verdict he gave went against the interest of the state. We sincerely thank the government for the action it is taking against him, even if it was delayed,” he said. Replying to a question, he said Haque was “100 percent responsible” for the political crisis that followed the verdict. When asked about the punishment their party seeks for the former Chief Justice, Fakhrul said it would not be right for him to comment on that. “We hope that these matters will be properly investigated and that the trial will be properly conducted according to legal provisions. But there should be an exemplary punishment so that in the future, no one can misuse that position to harm the state,” he said. Fakhrul slams attack on NCP rally, urges stern action against perpetrators The BNP leader said the judiciary is supposed to be the institution people trust the most. “But he destroyed that trust because of his political mindset, which caused major damage to the country.” A team of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) detained ABM Khairul Haque from his residence in the capital’s Dhanmondi area on Thursday morning. Fakhrul said they have come to know from newspapers that there were discussions or proposals underway to demolish the Shishu Academy building, which is located opposite Curzon Hall and beside the High Court. “We are against this move.” “We oppose it because it is a children’s institution run by the Government of Bangladesh, through which various programmes are organised for the development of children – including their growth, mental development, and extra-curricular activities,” he said. Fakhrul said that BNP founder Ziaur Rahman established the Shishu Academy, which now has branches all over the country. “So, I think moving this institution from its current location would not be the right decision at all. Our clear position is that we do not want the Shishu Academy building to be moved or relocated elsewhere. I believe such a move would become a barrier to nation-building.” BNP Vice Chairman Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Social Welfare Affairs Secretary Kamruzzaman Ratan, and Deputy Office Secretary Taiful Islam Tipu were present.

Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), a platform of over a dozen labour rights bodies, has demanded exemplary punishment to those responsible for the Banshkhali incident in which five workers of a coal-fired power plant were killed. The federation also demanded judicial investigation into the incident, providing proper compensations for the victims and ending harassment of workers. The demands came from a virtual meeting of SKOP held with its joint coordinator Shahidullah Chowdhury on Monday afternoon. SKOP also announced new programmes to press home their demands, said a press release on Tuesday. Also read: 2500 sued over Banshkhali incident SKOP leaders Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, Anwar Hossain, Razekuzzaman Ratan, Kamrul Ahsan, Chowdhury Ashikul Alam, Naimul Ahsan Jewel, Shakil Akter Chowdhury, Ripon Chowdhury, Shamim Ara, Ahsan Habib Bulbul, Abul Kalam Azad and Firoz Hossain, among others, spoke at the meeting. They said five workers were killed and over 50 others injured in a sudden and indiscriminate firing on agitating workers of the coal-fired power plant of S Alam Group who were demonstrating to press home their 10-point demand including payment of arrears and reducing the daily work hours to 8 during Ramadan. They demanded identifying those responsible and bringing them to book through investigation. They said it is essential to mete out exemplary punishment to everyone who is responsible for this killing in order to change the irresponsible and arrogant mindset developed among the government’s employees towards the working people who are real owners of the country. They said the district administration announced to provide nominal compensation and the superintendent of police blamed the workers. Also read: Police firing in Chattogram leaves five workers dead Terming the incident a cold-blooded killing, the SKOP leaders said the case was filed accusing the workers and villagers but those who opened fire were not arrested. SKOP will continue its programmes including demonstrations and rallies to ensure punishment to those responsible through a fair investigation. It will also place a memorandum before the Home Minister in this regard. SKOP will stage a demonstration in front of the Jatiya Press Club at 11am on Wednesday (April 21) to press home its demands over the Banshkhali incident. Besides, the federation of labour rights bodies decided to observe April 24 as the garment worker mourning day on Saturday next on a small scale maintaining health hygiene rules amid the Covid-19 lockdown in a bid to mark the eighth anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy. Moreover, SKOP has taken programmes to observe the International Workers’ Day on May 1 next.