HT Imam BNP man in AL
HT Imam is a BNP man in Awami League, claimed BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan yesterday, saying there are many others like him who will spill the beans about the January 5 “farcical” parliamentary election in right time.
“It will be of no use if Awami League men assault or take action against him. Because there are many others like HT Imam surrounding Awami League who will expose the government's misdeeds,” he said.
He was addressing a discussion organised by Jatiyatabadi Swechhasebak Dal in the capital's Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh marking the 50th birthday of Tarique Rahman, senior vice-chairman of BNP, also the eldest son of Khaleda and the slain founder of the party, president Ziaur Rahman.
When The Daily Star tried to contact HT Imam over the phone, one of his personal staff said his boss was napping, and he was taking down the correspondent's phone number so that Imam could call him back after waking up.
After half an hour, another personal staff of Imam said the boss had gone out. Imam did not pick up his mobile phone nor did he reply to the SMS sent by this paper.
Mahbubul Alam Hanif, joint general secretary of AL, refused to make any comment on Maruf's remarks.
BNP Standing Committee Member Rafiqul Islam Mia, who was the chief guest at the event, told The Daily Star that Maruf had just been making a joke about AL's Imam's gaffe.
At a discussion on Nov 19, Imam said many pro-AL officials, before the January 5 polls, were inducted into mobile courts, and that helped the government hold the election despite =BNP-Jamaat's bid to thwart it. “They stood beside us,” he said.
BNP-led opposition alliance took Imam's statement as a hotcake of an opportunity to defend their claim that January 5 national polls had been thoroughly rigged and was a monumental farce.
At yesterday's programme Rafiqul also advised BNP leaders and activists to take to the streets instead of chanting slogans inside hall rooms and party offices.
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