Hasina involved in Zia\\\'s killing?- Rizvi

Responding to Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina's allegation that General Ziaur Rahman was involved in the assassination of father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said Sunday Hasina was 'perhaps involved' in Ziaur Rahman's assassination, reports bdnews24.com.
Speaking at a press briefing at the BNP's Naya Paltan central office, Rizvi said Hasina's claim that Ziaur Rahman was involved in Mujib's assassination was a ploy to divert the people's attention away from her autocratic rule.
"The PM is lying. Former president Ziaur Rahman was killed just 13 days after she returned to the country. That day she (Hasina) tried to escape through the country's border."
"The people, seeing Awami League's joy at Ziaur Rahman's death, asked if she (Sheikh Hasina) was involved with others in his killing. The question remains."
Ziaur Rahman never spoke negatively of Mujib, he said. "It is evident in the speeches he gave in Parliament," Rizvi told reporters.
"Begum Khaleda Zia never speaks badly of Sheikh Mujib either," he added.
"The BNP founder was unquestionably involved in the Aug 15 killings", Hasina said at an event Saturday to mourn the death of Bangabandhu and other members of her family in the military coup in 1975.
She said Bangabandhu's self-proclaimed killers Syed Faruk Rahman and Khandker Abdur Rashid admitted to having Zia's support in an interview to the BBC.
Meanwhile, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia accused Awami League (AL) of indulging in rampant extortion on the occasion of the National Mourning Day.
She said through such act the party has dishonoured their leader.
Speaking to a delegation of Hindu community members Saturday night, Khaleda said businesses suffered due to the government's wrong policies.
"Businesses cannot operate. On Aug 15, there was rampant extortion. By doing this, they have dishonoured their leader," she said.
The government is destroying the spirit of the War of Liberation, the BNP chief said.
"No people of any faith and class can live in peace today. They have led the country to such a situation where even the spirit of the Liberation War is being trampled upon," she said.
"We must unite if we are to restore this spirit." Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family were brutally murdered in their home in the early hours of Aug 15, 1975. The day is observed as the National Mourning Day.
Khlaeda exchanged greetings of Janmashtami with the delegation at her Gulshan office. She said the nation was going through a difficult time and the teachings of Shri Krishna could be a guiding force to restore peace.
She lambasted the broadcasting policy, saying it was a tool to destroy democracy.
"We have to unite and take to the streets against this injustice," she said.
She alleged that corruption had spread at all levels of the society. "Nothing can be done without money. Even in jail you need to pay," the BNP chief said.
The Hindu community had come under attack under this government, she claimed.
Khaleda also alleged that the ruling party had politicised all levels of the administration.