Withdraw legal notice or face legal action: AL to BNP

Awami League Publicity and Publication Affairs Secretary Hasan Mahmud today threatened to take legal action if BNP does not withdraw the legal notice sent to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

"If they (BNP) don't withdraw the legal notice, we will take legal action against them," Mahmud said this evening, hours after BNP disclosed that a legal notice has been sent to Hasina.

Mahmud was addressing a press conference at AL President Sheikh Hasina's Dhanmondi political office in Dhaka.

Alleging that Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman were downrightly involved with corruption, the AL leader said the legal notice has been served to divert people’s attention from their corruption.

He also termed serving the legal notice against prime minister as "a brazen-faced manner" and said the fact that Khaleda's sons were involved with corruption during their regime has been proved by the verdicts of several courts. “Khaleda herself admitted that she is corrupt at court,” he alleged.

Mahmud also urged the Anti-Corruption Commission to initiate fresh investigation against Khaleda and her family.

Meanwhile, AL Presidium Member Motia Choudhury, who was present at the briefing, raised a question that how Tarique is living a life of luxury in the UK. “What is the source of the money?” she asked.

Earlier in the day, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, addressing a press conference, said that a legal notice has been sent to Hasina alleging that the prime minister brought false claims against Khaleda Zia and defamed the BNP chief.

On December 7, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spoke about Khaleda Zia’s wealth stashed in the Middle East. The next day, BNP shot back saying the allegations are baseless and warned of taking legal steps.

In the legal notice, BNP demanded unconditional apology for the “baseless and motivated” statements against Khaleda Zia within 30 days, or otherwise warned of filing a defamation suit.

AM Mahbubuddin Khokon, the BNP lawyer who forwarded the legal notice, told The Daily Star today that the notice was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday.