'A party destroying country's image abroad'

Post and Telecommunication Minister Aminul Huq (left) addressing a party meeting on Gaibandha Shaheed Minar premises Wednesday evening. PHOTO: STAR

Those who are doing propaganda to prove that the government is ineffective and has fundamentalists are destroying the real image of the country and its people abroad, he said addressing a party meeting.

"They are enemies of the people and opposed to development", he said. AL chief Sheikh Hasina earlier said that the BNP-led Alliance government was an ineffective one and "sheltered terrorists and fundamentalists".

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People rejected them and will foil all their conspiracies, he said. They will also resist today's hartal, he said.

Awami League called hartal for today protesting the murder of party lawmaker Ahsanullah Master, last month's grenade attack on the British High Commissioner and arrest of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) commander Bangla Bhai.

Held on Gaibandha Sheed Miner premise Wednesday evening, the meeting was addressed by, among others, State Minister for Agriculture Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and State Minister for Cultural Affairs Salima Rahman.

About 200 leaders and activists from different opposition parties joined BNP at the public meeting.

Aminul Huq said the opposition party is doing anarchy at a time when the Alliance government is leading the country towards development.

"They did a conspiracy to dislodge the government on April 30 but people foiled it. People will foil such conspiracies in future also".

The minister refuted AL chief Sheikh Hasina's allegation that the ruling party made the parliament ineffective by not allowing the opposition to speak.

"She addressed the parliament for one and a half hours (during a recent sitting) ", he said.

People and honest political leaders now understand who are doing anarchy and who are doing good for the country. Seeing BNP government's development work, many political leaders and workers of different parties are spontaneously joining BNP, Aminul Huq said.

The post and telecommunication minister said BNP government has brought 165 upazilas under digital telephone system and is working to cover the rest. He assured that all seven upazilas of Gaibandha district will soon be brought under digital system.

Those who joined BNP at the meeting include Sahadat Hossain Suja and M A Abdus Sabur Sarker of AL, Abdul Wahab of Jatiya Party, Fouzia Akhter of Jatiya Mohila Party, Kazi Azizur Rahman of Jamaat-e-Islami, Ashraf of CPB, Mahbubur Rahman, and Union Parishad chairmen Hasan Imam, Abdul Alim and Shahidul Islam.

Local BNP leaders also addressed the meeting presided over by Gaibandha BNP President Hamidul Huq Chhana.