DHAKA, April 23, 2022 (BSS) - Speakers at a webinar said BNP has been letting off volleys of lies in the political sphere to delete people's memories about the struggle for the country's independence, mask their own crimes and seize the state power by any means.

Their spectrum of false narratives covers not just the liberation struggle but the rise of BNP as a political party, the rise of Ziaur Rahman as the president, and even the amendment of BNP's constitution, they remarked.

The observations came through a webinar, organized by the ruling Awami League, titled 'The Saga of Politics: BNP's Politics of Lies Episode 1'.

Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim and journalist Ajoy Dasgupta addressed the webinar moderated by Awami League's Publicity and Publication Deputy Secretary Aminul Islam Amin on Friday night.

Reminiscing the days of heightened tension during the inception of the 1971-Liberation War, Ekushey Award-winning journalist Ajoy Dasgupta said, "The armored vehicle of the Pakistani armed forces is coming. Bullets are rattling through the area. At that time, Bangabandhu, unperturbed by the diabolic situation, is declaring independence."

On that fateful night, when firings from tanks showed no sign of stopping and the army of Pakistan was at his doorsteps, Bangabandhu conveyed the message of the country's independence to Awami League leaders, administrative officials, and law enforcement agencies.

The news even spread to Chittagong and then the entire world, he said.

On that night, the US department of state said that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had declared independence, he mentioned.

Newspapers of India, the UK, and other countries also carried the news while the entire nation set off, through this declaration, on the war against genocide, he added.

But BNP spreads lies about that historic declaration to deny independence, to erase people's memories about the fact that the people of Bangladesh jumped into the Liberation War at the call of Bangabandhu, he said.

Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim heavily condemned BNP on a plethora of issues including appointing lobbyists abroad, faking the signatures of six congressmen, and publishing a column in the New York Times.

He also referred to a BNP leader's relationship with the intelligence of Israel.

"All BNP wants is to seize the power by whatever unconstitutional means. They desperately seek an alternative to the democratic system of being voted to power. The seizure of state power by Ziaur Rahman was illegal," he said.

Rezaul said therefore, the Supreme Court in the hearing over the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution termed Ziaur Rahman and his associates as traitors for illegally grabbing state power and all their deeds between the day of seizing power and April 9, 1979, as illegal.

"BNP totally depends on lies. The country's top court delivered its verdict that there was only one declarer of independence. He is Bangabandhu and only he had the legal authority to declare independence as he was the representative of the people. Still, they (BNP leaders) are spewing their own narrative wherever they wish," he said.

"What is BNP's politics? Do they have any basic politics? I say, no. BNP was depending on a handful of Muslim Leaguers and anti-liberation elements. There joined some people who had left Jasad and Awami League and some people terming the struggle for independence as a struggle between two dogs. People of these types gathered here from different quarters to create a platform. This is not for the sake of politics but for sharing politics," he added.

Asked if abolishing this act implies that BNP accepted the charges against Khaleda Zia, Rezaul said, "BNP dropped this chapter from its constitution, but not through any council. They did it in their own way at their office by simply deleting that portion. That is why it is in the air that BNP is not willing to contest the polls as Khaleda Zia is not allowed to take part in the election. Tarique Rahman, convicted of corruption, lost his eligibility as a participant as well."

"Even if BNP is elected with its allies, it has to hire someone to be the prime minister. The last time they searched for Dr Kamal Hossain and others. They didn't perform up to the expectation. BNP is a political platform void of leadership and guidance, which is sliding into the pit of darkness. I don't consider it a political party, which requires a certain standard. On that ground, BNP lacks any specific political agenda," he further said.

When the country is striding unstoppable with infrastructural mega-projects such as roads, bridges, and tunnels, BNP has resorted to lies and propaganda as it is unable to tolerate those success stories, said the speakers.

Referring to the inception of BNP as a party, Aminul Islam said, "It's the party formed on the prescription of Pakistan's intelligence ISI following the assassination of Bangabandhu and his family and it was given birth by military dictator Ziaur Rahman."

Aminul Islam lashed out at BNP for its propaganda, which he said even crossed the limit, talking about the German ambassador's recent expression of dissatisfaction over BNP misquoting him and a previous allegation of spreading a false narrative about a cellular conversation with India's BJP chief Amit Shah.