BNP attacks on police, AL activists in a planned way: Hasan

Information and Broadcasting Minister Awami League (AL) Joint General Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud today said BNP has carried out attacks on police and AL leaders and activists from their programmes in a planned way.

“BNP observed ‘road march’ programme at different places across the country yesterday. We also observed ‘peace and development rally’. But, BNP’s main motive was to create chaos and it has been cleared by their vandalism,”  he said while exchanging views with reporters at the meeting room of the ministry at secretariat.

The minister said BNP activists were involved in clashes with police in nine places and many places with AL activists.

Showing media reports, Dr Hasan said, BNP activists torched a flag and a bike of Chhatra League Mirpur Bangla College unit vice president Rubel Hossain. They carried out attacks on AL Khagrachari unit deputy office secretary Nurul Azam and others in Khgarachari.

Even, he said, BNP carried out attacks on police at Bogura when they tried to go Satrastha circle without permission. Police were forced to throw teargas in self-defense, he added.

The information minister said BNP workers destroyed banners and festoons of Awami League in Laxmipur in front of Samad Academy and carried out attacks on AL leaders and activists.

He said BNP has proved that the party could not come out of their confrontational and destructive politics. BNP are observing a ‘road march’ programme today also. We are watching their programme cautiously and our ‘peace and development rally’ will also be held,” he said.

Dr Hasan said BNP wants to create a chaotic situation through violence. But the countrymen would not give any scope to them, he noted.

Replying to a query over some media reports on tweeting of UN representative and Amnesty International (AI) over Hero Alam, the information minister said, “I was really astonished that some media has published a tweet of the local residential UN representative as the statement of the United Nations. Even, they published a tweet of AI as the statement of the organization. It is like malpractice of journalism.”

He said it is never appropriate to publish a tweet as the statement. This is their personal reaction, not the reaction of organizations, he said.

“Will it be a government statement, if I tweet or give a status on Facebook as the information minister or joint general secretary of the party (AL)? he asked saying, “I, as information minister, would like to request all to refrain from such reporting and remain careful about this.”

Terming the attack on Hero Alam as conspiratorial, Dr Hasan said the main motive of the attack was to make the poll controversial when the election was going peacefully. The miscreants did it to stigmatize the government party and the Election Commission, he added. (BSS)