BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Thursday strongly condemned the remarks made by National Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman involving the party's Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and demanded his immediate removal from the office.
"People of the country are shocked, surprised, worried and angry at the statement Khalilur made about Tarique Rahman," he said while speaking at a press briefing at the BNP's Nayapaltan central office in Dhaka.
Rizvi also said the adviser's comments appear to echo the manner in which Hasina used to defame the Zia family, aiming to create an illusion of so-called development by effectively burying democracy.
"Our statement is clear that there is no scope for experiment with the state. Dr Khalilur must be immediately removed from the post of national security adviser and complete information about his status at home and abroad must be disclosed to the people of the country," Rizvi added.
Instead of addressing the questions raised about his status, Rizvi said, "Khalilur sought to divert public attention by resorting to propaganda against Tarique Rahman, like Hasina. The people will not accept such nefarious efforts."
Describing Dr Khalilur as a controversial person who appears to serve foreign interests, the BNP leader said that the public deserves answers to pressing questions 'where was he during a decade and a half of fascism? What was his status? In which country did he reside? What was his position abroad? What role did he play against fascism?'
He also asserted that Dr Khalilue's statement regarding Tarique Rahman is detrimental to the permanent security of democracy.
"It seems there is an attempt to exact revenge by tarnishing the image of Tarique Rahman, whose public standing shines even brighter," Rizvi said.
Earlier on Wednesday, in a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, Khalilur Rahman said, "If I'm being labeled a foreign citizen simply for residing in the US, then by the same logic, BNP Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman - who has lived in the UK for years - could be similarly labeled."
"If you throw a stone at me, it might end up hitting someone else," he said, urging those who raised questions about his citizenship to make comments judiciously.
BNP Chairperson's Adviser Md. Abdus Salam, Joint Secretary General Khairul Kabir Khokon, Abdus Salam Azad, Swecchasebak Dal General Secretary Mir Sarafat Ali Sopu, and Assistant Office Secretary of BNP Taiful Islam Tipu also spoke the event.
