Home ›› 10 Dec 2022 ›› Governance
Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Friday said BNP’s stubbornness to hold rally before its Naya Paltan headquarters keeping bombs inside the office proved that their target was to carry out terrorist acts, not holding a peaceful rally.
He said this while talking to journalists at his Minto Road official residence.
Hasan, also Awami League joint general secretary, said 15 bombs, 2 lakh bottles of water, 160 sacks of rice, cooked hodgepodge, cooking pots, containers and Taka two lakh cash were recovered from the BNP office following the clash between BNP leaders-workers and police on Wednesday.
It is the duty of the government to ensure the people’s safety and take measures to avert any chaotic situation, he said.
The minister said the government was compelled to take actions when police men came under attacks, rally was held illegally by blockading streets.
“We told them throughout the last two weeks that the government will extend all-out cooperation to them in holding their rally. But they were adamant to hold rally at Naya Paltan to create disorders. It is completely illegal,” he said.
Noting that every party can hold peaceful rally in the country, he said if the government did not extend cooperation and ensure safety, it was not possible for BNP to hold large rallies in nine places of the country.
“They held rallies in all divisional cities and the government ensured security to them. There was no problem there. They locked into internal conflicts in some places,” he mentioned.
The AL joint general secretary said when BNP was in power, AL was not allowed to hold rallies.
Gruesome grenade attacks were carried out on Awami League’s anti-terrorism rally on August 21 in 2004 with a target to assassinate the then Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina while 24 leaders and workers were killed and around 500 others received injuries in the attacks, he recalled.
