Political leaders trade blame over Cumilla incident
Ruling party leaders said the government is committed to ensure exemplary punishment of the culprits
Religious tensions centring the reported desecration of the Quran in Cumilla have also heated up the country's political domain.
Although the ruling Awami League ministers termed the incident "an act of an evil communal force" without mentioning any name, the BNP alleged that the incident was orchestrated to divert people's attention from many other issues.
"It is an act of an evil communal force. Those who attacked Hindu temples would not be spared, even if they belong to any party," Obaidul Quader, road transport and bridges minister and also the Awami League general secretary, told a programme in Dhaka Thursday.
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Obaidul Quader said, "A vested quarter wants to destroy communal harmony in the country ahead of the next general elections.
"The government is committed to ensuring exemplary punishment to individuals or groups who want to damage communal harmony."
He said, "We are on alert so that this evil force cannot not destabilise peace."
On Thursday, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged that the Cumilla incident took place to divert people's attention.
"There are many issues in the country. The incident has been orchestrated so that people's attention is diverted from the problems," he commented.
Mirza Fakhrul demanded immediate and exemplary punishment of the culprits who carried out the temple attack.
Like Quader, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal also believes a vested quarter is behind the Cumilla incident.
"We are looking into the matter. We will reveal the details after the investigation," he noted.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud Thursday said an identified quarter committed the heinous crime in Cumilla with an ill political motive.
"The same vested quarter had spread rumours over the Padma Bridge and conspired against the country and the welfare of its people in the past," he told the journalists at the Secretariat.
Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif, joint general secretary of the Awami League, said, "BNP-Jamaat alliance, who are jealous of the development and progress of the country, backed the Cumilla attack."
"The government has taken a firm stance in this regard. People who want to destabilise the country by carrying out such incidents will be dealt with an iron fist," the leader told journalists at his Kushtia residence Thursday.
In the meantime, Bangladesh United Islami Party leaders pointed the finger at BNP-Jamaat and Hefazat-e-Islam men for the religious violence.
At a press conference in Dhaka Thursday, they said communal evils and their associates who opposed the independence of the country are behind the incident.
The Workers Party of Bangladesh, a member of the ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance, also expressed its grave concern over the communal tensions, and urged the government to take stern action against the culprits.
