Hasina was not unhappy with Ershad’s grabbing state power: Fakhrul

Hitting back at the prime minister for her comment that Khaleda Zia paved the path for Ershad to take over power in 1982, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today said that Sheikh Hasina was not “unhappy” for grabbing the power at that time.

“She (prime minister) frequently speaks in the parliament without any basis. This very person stated near a Bangladesh-India border that she is not unhappy when Ershad grabbed state power ousting an elected president,” Fakhrul said.

He came up with reaction after placing wreaths at the grave of the party founder Ziaur Rahman in Sher-e-Banglanagar area of Dhaka this noon.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the parliament that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia created scope for HM Ershad to take over in 1982 and she benefited from the Ershad rule.

She also said calling military rulers like Ziaur Rahman and HM Ershad president was illegal in line with a verdict of the High Court.

The PM made the remarks during a discussion on the condolence motion on late opposition leader HM Ershad and others in the Jatiya Sangsad.

Rejecting the PM’s remarks, Fakhrul said that Sheikh Hasina forming a political alliance with Ershad has destroyed the country’s democracy and snatched people’s fundamental rights.

“Now the government has made Jatiya Party as a domestic opposition in the parliament,” the BNP leader said adding that Ershad was always loyal to Sheikh Hasina and now his widow Raushan took Ershad’s the responsibility.

About Khaleda Zia’s release, Fakhrul said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been fighting for democracy since long, but the ruling quarter confined her in jail by hanging on to power forcibly.

“The current resume is anti-people. It has kept Khaleda Zia in jail with its politics of vengeance,” Fakhrul alleged.

Fakhrul again claimed that Khaleda Zia, now undergoing treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, is very sick now and she is now being denied proper treatment there.

He also expressed his hope that they would be able to free Khaleda Zia from jail and restore the country’s destroyed democracy by waging a collection movement on the street.

Fakhrul flanked by several leaders and activists of the party’s woman front Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal placed the wreaths at the grave marking its 41st founding anniversary.