Khaleda sued for calling AL 'a party of atheists'
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been sued for calling the ruling Awami League "a party of atheists."
AB Siddique, president of Bangladesh Jananetri Parishad, a pro-Awami League organisation, yesterday filed the case with the chief metropolitan magistrate's court of Dhaka.
Later, Metropolitan Magistrate Mostafizur Rahman, taking cognisance of the charge against Khaleda Zia, directed Shahbagh police to investigate the case and submit a report on the issue by November 19.
The court also directed Officer-in-Charge of Shahbagh Police Station to take a government sanction as it is a mandatory provision before submitting the report in such a case.
Meanwhile, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir condemned the filing of the case against the BNP chief.
In his complaint, Siddique alleged that Khaleda, on October 14 at a programme in the capital's Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, said, "AL doesn't believe in secularism but in atheism." The programme was organised to mark Shubha Bijoya.
She said the ruling party's professed secularism was nothing but a sham.
Her remarks have hurt the religious sentiment of Muslims, the plaintiff said in his complaint.
At the programme, Khaleda further said secularism is AL's mask and it is the ruling party that attacks religious communities whenever it gets a chance.
Terming the incumbent government a "power grabber", she said the ruling party men were torturing the Hindu community across the country, but the government had not taken any action against them.
On the other hand, Khaleda described her party as a patriotic one and said it wanted friendly relations with people of all religious communities, classes and professions at home and abroad.
The plaintiff also appealed to the court to issue an arrest warrant against the BNP Chief.
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