BNP volunteer front's threat against Hasina sparks social media storm

A recent veiled threat from BNP's volunteer front leader Abdul Qader Bhuiyan to stage a repeat of 1975 apparently against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stirred a storm on social media with a number of pro-Liberation activists deploring the statement as a pointer to a larger design to stoke unrest ahead of the grand opening of the much awaited Padma Bridge.

As BNP's senior leaders have reportedly shied away from offering any apology regarding the violent threat, a number of Awami League activists too have raised the involvement of Ziaur Rahman, founder of BNP, in the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that had wiped out almost all of his family members on 15 August, 1975.

A former president of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Abdul, is the current general secretary of party's volunteer front Jatiyotabadi Seccha Shebok Dal.

In the aftermath, when officially tipped off by a junior officer on the massacre by a group of disgruntled army officers, Zia responded, "So what! The Vice-President is there, as evidenced in a BBC Bangla report," AL activists said.

Citing that report, several activists took to social media mainly Facebook alleging BNP's long track record of ruthlessness to stamp out rivals.

In reference to a number of assassination attempts against the daughter of Bangabandhu –Sheikh Hasina – some posts on Facebook brought up the involvement of Tarique Rahman, now acting chairman of the party, behind the gruesome grenade attack on Hasina back in 2004.

A court order has convicted Tarique and his sidekicks including some radical elements behind the evil plot.

"Like father, like son", reads a post elaborating Zia's record of infamous indemnity ordinance to protect the killers of Bangabandhu and later how the grenade attackers were allowed safe passage at the behest of Tarique, elder son of Zia, from the country back in 2004 when BNP was in power.

Sharing a recent remark of BNP's leader Rumin Farhana,  a BNP lawmaker from reserved seat, at a talk show where she pretended to be unaware about the threat, one activist wrote, "Is it any responsible attitude on part of any senior leader when it evokes memories of darkest hours that pushed the country in the hands of fundamentalists?"

Meanwhile sounding alarm at the statement, AL's general secretary Obaidul Quader also issued warnings urging party leaders to remain alert against such attempts.