Govt will be accountable if Khaleda not sent abroad for treatment within 36hrs: Fakhrul

The ruling Awami League must shoulder responsibility if anything happens to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia due to denied access to overseas treatment, the party's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said today. 

Referring to Khaleda Zia's deteriorating health, Fakhrul said she is at "a critical point of life and death".

"The government will have to take all the responsibility if something happens to Khaleda Zia for not getting treatment abroad within the 48 hours since yesterday," he said while addressing a party rally at Dholaikhal in the capital.

The Awami League has lost its mind due to the US announcement regarding visa restrictions on Bangladeshi individuals, he further said at the rally, organised by the Dhaka Metropolitan South unit of the BNP.

Waving a newspaper, he said there were concerns that the US visa restrictions would have an impact on investment.

Fakhrul warned the government that if their demands are not met, the issues will be settled through movement.

The BNP leader said, "The Awami League has destroyed everything in the country. There is no investment in the country. All sectors have been destroyed. People cannot afford to eat because of the [spiralling] prices of goods."

Moreover, the BNP leader alleged that the government is planning a rigged election next year.

"But this time, no one, including the United Nations, will accept this. The people of the country will not accept it as well," he said.
Fakhrul said the country's freedom is dependent on the ongoing movement. 

"This government won't accept any demands. They must be overthrown through the movement," he added.

BNP's Aminbazar rally postponed

The BNP's pre-announced protest rally in Aminbazar yesterday was postponed after the police denied them permission.

The rally could be held on the 28th, Khandaker Abu Ashfaq, Dhaka district BNP president, told The Business Standard. 

"Police demolished our stage at around 2 o'clock last night. They could have told us, we would have moved it," he said.

Visiting the rally venue on Monday morning, no sign of a stage was visible except for a few benches in the small field.

Locals said that the people of BNP activists waited till late last night to prepare the stage.

On the other hand, the presence of a large number of police including senior officials of the district police has been observed at the rally site since morning.

Regarding the allegation of vandalism against the police, Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Ops) of Dhaka District Police Abdullahel Kafi said, "The allegation against the police of demolishing the BNP's platform is ridiculous."