TDS Desk:

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will celebrate its founding anniversary programme on 1 September on a small scale due to the recent floods that hit at least 11 south eastern districts of the country.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told a press conference at the BNP Chairperson’s political office at Gulshan here yesterday.

Earlier, the BNP’s Standing Committee at a meeting on Tuesday night unanimously took this decision. BNP Standing Committee Member Nazrul Islam Khan was also present there.

Expressing grave concern over the flood situation, Mirza Fakhrul said the standing committee meeting discussed about the terrible floods and said no colorful programme will be held on the occasion of BNP’s founding anniversary, rather programmes will be held on a small scale.

On 1 September, he said only wreaths will be placed at the grave of BNP’s founder late President Ziaur Rahman at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital.

The party flag will be kept at half-mast at the party office. Besides, prayers and Milad mahfil will be held on the day.

BNP Secretary General also said special prayers will be offered for the victims of the recent students-people movement and for immediate return of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman.

“We are helping the flood victims as much as we can on behalf of the party. A central relief cell has also been set up. Various essential items, including rice, pulses, oil, medicines, clothes, dry food are being distributed among the flood victims. The leaders and workers of the party have distributed relief materials of about Tk1 crore among the flood victims,” Fakhrul mentioned.

Referring to some unruly activities of the miscreants in some places across the country, he said the miscreants are trying to put the blame on BNP. “But we won’t tolerate any sort of criminal activities,” he added.

The BNP secretary general also warned of taking action against those who are involved in criminal acts. He also urged the law enforcement agencies to investigate first and accurately so that such incidents do not occur rampantly.

To this end, he directed the party leaders and workers not to file any case without any legal documents as the country is going through a transitional period.

“We must cooperate with the interim government properly to bring back a conducive environment for holding the next elections, ” Fakhrul added.

He categorically said that in a democratic country, change does not happen without elected public representatives.

Noting that there is a conspiracy to destroy the revolution of the students and some misleading information are spreading from India that fuelling communalism, the senior BNP leader said, “There is a planned conspiracy against BNP again . . . But in the last 15 years, every leader and worker of BNP has been the victims of torture and persecution, plagued with false cases.”

He said BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia was jailed and acting Chairman Tarique Rahman had to stay outside the country for a long and there had not a single BNP leader and worker who did not face any false case.

Responding to query of journalists, Mirza Fakhrul said the interim government should hold a dialogue with the political parties on an urgent basis.

About removal of ban on Jamaat-Shibir, the BNP leader said, “We are not in favor of banning any political party . . . It’s their right to do politics who are pro-independence and loyal to sovereignty of Bangladesh.”