Senior Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta:Khaleda Zia must admit mistake of backing grenade attack,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

Minister without portfolio Suranjit Sengupta on Friday said opposition leader Khaleda Zia must apologise to people admitting her mistake for what he said backing the August 21 grenade attack.

“I appreciate BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for recently admitting her mistake by backing former president Iajuddin Ahmed as the chief adviser to the caretaker government, and she should now admit her fault in patronising the August 21 grenade attack,” he told a discussion at the city’s Osmani Auditorium.

According to media reports, Khaleda at a meeting of the BNP standing committee on August 2 “admitted her mistake of backing Iajuddin as the chief adviser to the caretaker government”.

“Backing Iajuddin was not the only mistake the BNP chairperson made,” Suranjit said adding, “She should admit and apologise to people for all her mistakes, including backing the August 21 grenade attack and delaying the war crimes trial.”

“It’s natural to make mistakes in politics, but there’s also scope for corrections in politics. It’s better to admit the mistakes,” he said.

“If she doesn’t admit the fault and prefers the culture of violence, bloodshed and obstructing constitutional course, she’ll lose her position in democratic politics,” he added.

Speaking at the discussion, organised by Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote marking the 8th death anniversary of AL leader Ivy Rahman, State Minister of Law Quamrul Islam accused the then BNP government of destroying a lot of evidence of the grenade attack case.

Ivy, the then Women Affairs secretary of the AL, along with others was injured in a grenade attack on an AL rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in the city on August 21, 2004. She later died at the Combined Military Hospital on August 24.

“But, I think, the trial on the grenade attack will be completed under this government,” he said.

The trial proceedings are progressing fairly well as 62 witnesses have already testified in the court, Quamrul added.

“Not only the trial of the grenade attack, but also the trial of war criminals and 10-truck arms haul case will be completed before the end of our tenure,” he said.