DHAKA, Sept 20, 2023 (BSS)- Information and Broadcasting Minister and Awami League Joint General Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud today said many BNP leaders will depart the party and it is a matter of time.

“Many BNP leaders will follow Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury or Taimur Alam Khandaker, just wait and see,” he said journalists at his secretariat office.

Everybody will not stay in BNP as the party doesn’t know how to respect the senior leaders and continuously barring the leaders from contesting in the election, he said.

The minister said BNP is out to create confusion among the people. During 2018 polls, the party first had declared that they would not take part in the elections, but later they took part in the polls, he noted.

The minister said changes in the current languages of BNP leaders with their statements one month back is giving an indication that they are eager to take part in the coming poll.

Dr Hasan said a political party without any engagement in election for long time would certainly be isolated from the people. BNP would be isolated if they boycott the coming election, he said.

The minister said BNP wants the guarantee of winning the polls. But, neither the government nor the Election Commission (EC) can give the assurance to any party, he continued saying “We want that all political parties to participate in the elections.”

Criticizing a comment of BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the information minister said BNP leaders have given the instigation for arson attacks and the government has its audio records and other proves. But denying the facts, BNP leaders are spreading falsehood against the government, he said.

Dr Hasan said BNP had carried out grenade attacks on Awami League rally on August 21, 2004 with an aim to kill Sheikh Hasina. They killed many Awami League leaders including Shah AMS Kibria and Ahsanullah Master and assaulted former home minister Mohammed Nasim and senor leader Begum Matia Chowdhury, he pointed out.

About the recent Canada tour, Dr Hasan said the premier show of ‘Mujib -The Making of a Nation’ was screened at the Toronto Film Festival on September 13.

The audience lauded the film expressing their overwhelming joy for making the movie on Bangabandhu. The ministry has a plan to release the movie in Bangladesh in October, Hasan said.

During the visit, the minister met with Canadian Parliament's Upper House's Human Rights Committee Chair Senator Salma Ataullahjan. She has praised Bangladesh's unprecedented development under dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

At the meeting, Ataullahjan also commended Sheikh Hasina for providing shelter to about 13 lakh Rohingyas in Bangladesh, the minister said.

The information minister also had a meeting with Chairperson of the Canadian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration Salma Zahid, MP.

In the meeting, the minister urged her to reopen Canadian visa office in Dhaka and inclusion of Bangladeshi students to Canada's Student Direct Stream (SDS).

On  way to home, Dr Hasan visited Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader in Singapore where he is now undergoing treatment.

The information minister said the health condition of AL general secretary is very good.