BNP now asks if Inu had any role in planning

BNP yesterday called upon Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu to quit if he "fails to clarify" before the nation his role in the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Referring to Awami League leader Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim's recent remarks, it said Inu and his Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal had created the ground for Bangabandhu's assassination.

Sheikh Selim remarked Sunday that JSD had paved the way for the killing of his uncle Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

"We want to tell Mr Inu that we alone don't talk about your misdeeds. The top leaders of the ruling party are also discussing daily the wrongdoings you committed during 1972-75. You should make it clear -- what is the role you and the Gono Bahini had in the murder," said BNP spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon.

Addressing a press briefing at BNP's Naya Paltan central office, Ripon said the JSD chief should respond to the allegations.

He also called Inu a "parasite minister," and said he was making unguarded remarks about BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia irrelevantly only to protect his ministership.

"Although the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal had a negative attitude towards Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Inu and his party leaders are now busy calling him father of the nation in every sentence." 

Selim said the anti-liberation elements would never dare attack Bangabandhu had the Gono Bahini of JSD not created the environment by robbery and killings, even of MPs, in the name of protest against Sheikh Mujib.

He also implicated Gono Bahini chief Col Taher, saying he was involved in the conspiracy to kill Bangabandhu.

In a statement, JSD yesterday strongly protested Selim's comment.

JSD Executive President Mayeen Uddin Khan Badal and General Secretary Sharif Nurul Ambia said Selim's comment not only lacked truth but also was provocative, when JSD's name did not came up anywhere in the trial for Bangabandhu murder.

They also questioned the motive and link of the utterances of Selim and BNP against their party.