The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and NCP have strongly protested a reported interview of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, which was published in an Indian news outlet.
In a statement on Tuesday, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar condemned the Mirza Fakhrul's statements, terming them 'untrue and vindictive'.
In the interview, Fakhrul was quoted as saying that Jamaat is putting pressure on BNP over PR for by demanding 30 seats.
Jamaat dismissed the allegations as completely untrue, disrespectful and vindictive, adding, "There is no similarity between truth and decency in such a claim".
The Jamaat Secretary General called upon the BNP leader to present evidence specifying which constituencies Jamaat allegedly demanded.
"If he fails to present evidence, we call upon him to at least accept the truth and express regret before the people. We also urged Fakhrul to refrain from making such untrue and misleading statements in the future, said Parwar.
NCP also reacted sharply. Responding to Mirza Fakhrul's statement that the NCP is no longer a political force, Nahid Islam said: "Whether NCP is a force or not, people will judge it on the streets and in the voting field.
Amid the outcry, Mirza Fakhrul, however, claimed that he did not say the statement mentioned in the interview published in the Indian daily newspaper 'Ai Samoji'.
Although news was published in different media outlets in Bangladesh under different headlines based on the interview, it is wrong and misleading, he said in a statement provided by the BNP media cell.
The BNP Secretary General condemned the publication of such news and requested the people not to be confused.
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