Khaleda was not allowed to visit Zia's mazar

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Senior leaders of BNP without its chairperson Khaleda Zia paid homage to Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman by placing wreaths and offering fateha at his grave in the city Saturday as the party observed its 29th founding anniversary in a modest way, reports UNB.
BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan led the wreath-laying ceremony at the mazar of the party founder, Ziaur Rahman, at Chandrima Udyan at about 11:30 am. The leaders offered fateha and prayed for salvation of the departed soul of the slain president.
Speaker Zamiruddin Sircar and Deputy Speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui placed wreaths separately.
The authorities did not allow Khaleda, the immediate-past prime minister, to come out of her cantonment home and pay homage to the late leader for "security" reasons. The BNP leaders expressed frustration at this.
"This is unfortunate," Bhuiyan told reporters, indicating the predicament she is in.
BNP chairperson's adviser ASM Hannan Shah said every leader and worker of the party expected that Khaleda Zia would attend the ceremony, and she was also ready to come.
"But," he said, "the government didn't allow her to come on security reasons, despite negotiations at different levels of the government last night."
However, he said BNP senior leaders placed wreaths by reposing all trust in the leadership of Khaleda Zia -- who seems to be at odds with reformists in the party.
BNP standing-committee member MK Anwar said the BNP established under the leadership of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman 29 years ago has now become the largest political party in the country.
During this long period, he observed, BNP has made contributions to the overall development the country has achieved to this day.
Anwar, who made a bit soul-searching at this turning point, said BNP leaders and workers must remain united to overcome all odds as they did in the past.
He viewed that BNP should support present reforms being undertaken by the caretaker government to establish corruption-free politics. He admitted that BNP, perhaps, has made some mistakes in its onward journey. " We are making self-criticism for our mistakes so that we can move forward by learning from our past wrongs," the former minister said.
BNP Joint Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan said there is no case against Khaleda Zia, she is not arrested and she is good in health. But she was not allowed to visit the mazar.
"This is painful for us," Khan lamented.
BNP senior leaders who turned up at the mazar included Tanvir Ahmed Siddiqui, MK Anwar, Shamsul Islam, Hannan Shah, Nazrul Islam Khan, Selina Rahman, Mayor Sadeq Hossain Khoka, Hafizuddin Ahmed, Ashraf Hossain, ZA Khan, Harun-ur-Rashid and Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Leaders of BNP's front organisations like JASAS, Zia Sangskritik Sangstha, Zia Parishad, Jatiyatabadi Nagorik Forum and Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal placed wreaths and offered fateha at the mazar.
Besides placing the wreaths, milad and Quran khawani was organised on the mazar premises.
Witnesses said some BNP workers gathered outside the mazar compound jeered at and showed shoes and sandals as Bhuiyan got into his car after placing the wreath. Perhaps Bhuiyan's reform initiatives that threaten Khaleda's leadership might cause anger among the Khaleda faithfuls.