Tarique Rahman, Mirza Alamgir sued

A defamation case has been filed against BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman and acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir for ‘derogatory’ comments against Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last week. AB Siddique, president of Bangladesh Jono Netri Parishad, a pro-Awami League organisation, filed the case today with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Erfanullah. The complainant alleged that at a discussion held in London on September 2, Tarique Rahman said that Ziaur Rahman, his father who founded the BNP, was the 1st president of Bangladesh, a claim that he made in Britain and other foreign countries on several occasions earlier this year. Besides, AB Siddique alleged, that on September 5, BNP’s acting Secretary General Mirza Alamgir claimed that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ended his historic March 7, 1971, speech saying ‘Joy Pakistan’ and he didn’t make any announcement for independence, which was published in different national daily newspapers on the following day. ‘Both (Tarique and Mirza Alamgir) have distorted the history and tarnished the image of Bangabandhu by making such comments,’ complainant AB Siddique further alleged, according to a news agency.