Senior Correspondent
bdnews24.com
Published: 2015-03-15 18:57:44.0 BdST
Updated: 2015-03-15 19:24:33.0 BdST
Information Minister
Hasanul Haq Inu has trashed BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s call for speedy
dialogue over interim polls saying that she deserves a place in
Kashimpur prison instead of a seat on the table for dialogue.
He told an official briefing in Secretariat on Sunday :, “ Immediate
polls are not an issue in the country. The key problem lies with the
arson, violence, anarchy and militancy.
“…Khaleda Zia’s place is not on the dialogue table but rather in Kashimpur Prison.”
The BNP chief has been staying in her Gulshan office continuously after calling for an indefinite blockade from Jan 5.
In
a press briefing on Friday, Khaleda, for the first time in more than
two months, clarified her party’s stance blaming the government for the
political stalemate.
She said dialogue for an interim poll was
the only option the 20-Party could offer to the ruling government and
announced to continue agitation until they conceded.
“Everyone
was hoping she would have a change of heart. By declaring to continue
the agitation, she has severely disappointed the people.”
The minister also blasted Khaleda for giving a speech laced with false information and smacking of stubbornness.
He also pulled her up for not facing journalists after the brief saying she was ‘scared’ of being questioned.
The
information minister also dismissed her call for dialogue saying it can
only be considered if it aimed strengthening our democracy or the
electoral process.
" It would be meaningless it was just to find an ‘ad-hoc formula’ for a single poll," he added.
“Khaleda Zia did not present any concrete suggestion to develop or strengthen the electoral system, nor can she.”
The Question of Arrest
A
Dhaka court on Feb 25 issued an arrest warrant for BNP chief Khaleda
Zia after she failed to appear for consecutive hearings in two graft
cases.
However, she has not been arrested since the court order ‘did not reach’ the police.
The
government has been saying that ‘law will take its own course’. BNP and
20-Party leaders have claimed the delay was because the warrant was
illegal.
“There are a number of crucial charges against her.
These matters are under trial. … We will implement the steps taken by
the court,” the minister said.
Prime minister’s information
affairs advisor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury said, “Surrendering is showing
respect for the law, it is Khaleda Zia’s responsibility. The court will
run as it is, the government is responsible for aiding the court, and it
will do just that."
The minister went on to blast Khaleda for over 100 deaths that have occurred in the 20-Party agitation over the last 67 days.
He
said the deaths were result of Khaleda’s direct orders to cause
violence and that cases over the deaths and killings were being
prepared.
“The court will take steps after these reach them,” Inu said.
He also trashed Khaleda’s claim the government was orchestrating the violence and blaming it on the 20-Party.
“Her party men are being caught red-handed ordering violence . Cases filed after all these… how can those be false?”