PM’s remark on Khaleda amounts to a ‘death threat’: BNP

Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has strongly condemned the comments of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about its chairperson Khaleda Zia who should be dropped in the Padma river.
BNP said such comment about the former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is tantamount to the threat of killing her and urged the Prime Minister to refrain from such remarks or they will go for legal action for such narration.
“As a Prime Minister of the country, she cannot make such comments. Such statements about a former Prime Minister and Opposition Leader are akin to the threat of killing. The felling of a person from the bridge cannot be a normal issue,” BNP Secretary
General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said at a view-exchange meeting in the capital on Thursday.
Urging Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to refrain from making such comments, he said, “We condemn such speech and we don’t expect such non-political and indecent comments any more. Otherwise, we will take legal action for such issue.”
Brushing aside the allegation of BNP’s conspiracy with the foreigners, Fakhrul said, “Awami League loots the elections. They keep communication with the foreigners. They seek US Foreign Minister’s cooperation to bring BNP to election. We don’t contact the foreigners rather they do and there are a plethora of evidences of it.”
Sounding critical about the construction of the Padma Bridge, the Secretary General said, “It has not been constructed by the wealth of anybody’s father. The bridge is constructed by people’s taxes. They have looted here. The bridge construction cost is Tk 10,000 crore but they have spent about Tk40,000 crore.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came down heavily on BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus for their criticism and role in the construction of the bridge.
“Khaleda Zia said that the Padma Bridge is being constructed in a shoddy manner when the spans were being set up. It will not be useable and will collapse. Then some of her associates were with her. Now what should be done to them? They should be taken to Padma Bridge and dropped into the river,” she said.
Prime Minister also criticised Yunus and said he blocked World Bank’s funding for the construction of the Padma Bridge because he wanted to be the Managing Director of Grameen Bank, but his age did not cover as per law. Then he lost the case and took revenge.”
“Now he (Yunus) should be plunged into the Padma River twice and then pulled up onto the bridge. That perhaps will teach him a lesson,” she said.
After the comments of the Prime Minister, BNP condemned it and urged her to refrain from such speech to avoid legal action.