‘Huge money went into Hifazat long march’

The Hifazat-e Islam organised the long march in exchange of millions of taka, alleged Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif on Tuesday.

Hanif told a protest rally by the Jatiya Sromik League during Tuesday’s nationwide strike by the BNP, “More than Tk 800 million changed hands for the Hifazat’s programme. Hifazat-e Islam took Tk 450 million. The transaction took place in Daily Amar Desh’s office. Its Acting Editor Mahmudur Rahman himself took Tk 40 million.”

Also the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister claimed the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami were making plots ahead of the Hifazat-e Islam’s rally saying, “The intention was to remove the government with the long march.”

Supporters under the Hifazat banner organised a long march to Dhaka, which concluded with a mass rally in Motijheel on Apr 6. The radical ‘Islamist’ group has a list of 13 demands that includes maximum penalty for ‘atheist bloggers’ and also seeks an end to unbarred mixing of men and women in public.

Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in their statements thanked the Hifazat for keeping its promises of a ‘peaceful’ rally.

Violence in the name of strikes could never be justified as a political programme, said Hanif.

“A political party has the right to call strikes. But the people, too, have the right to reject them. So, the people of the nation have rejected today’s (Tuesday) strike with contempt.”

“I thank the people of the nation... They have rejected the strike and maintained normalcy which proves that the opposition’s strike is without any rhyme or reason,” he said.

“The opposition has called a strike but did not offer a substantial reason for it,” said the Awami league leader on the 18-Party Alliance’s strike call.

“Khaleda Zia does not even trust the people to vote her to power. So, she has been trying to create instability in the country, hoping it will place her in the seat of power.”