Ruling party behind arson, sabotage incidents: Rizvi

The ruling Awami League is behind the recent incidents of "arson terrorism and sabotage" all over the country, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General  Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed alleged today.

"Awami League leaders and activists are indulging in chaos every day to maintain the reign of fear under state-sponsorship. They are constantly setting fires to public transport. And the law and order forces have been playing the role of silent spectators," he said in a virtual press conference on Tuesday (21 November).

Rizvi said supporters of the Awami League are deliberately setting fires to vehicles.

"In several video footage circulating on social media, statements of drivers or their assistants clearly show how the police or the Bangladesh Chhatra League and the Jubo League activists were responsible for setting their buses on fire," he said.

The senior BNP leader also said, "Bangladesh has become a war zone today. Hundreds of patrol teams of police, the RAB and members of the BGB have been deployed all over the country.

"There is a well-organised police patrol with heavy weapons."

He said, "The claim that members of the opposition would indulge in any kind of violence or arson amid this impeccable security system is laughable.

"The purpose of the heavy presence of law enforcement forces is to ensure the safety of Awami terrorists so that they can freely set fire to vehicles, cause damage to people's lives and create an atmosphere of anarchy."

The BNP leader claimed that in the last 24 hours, the police have arrested more than 475 leaders and activists across the country and more than 1,720 leaders and activists were accused in various cases.

The party claimed that 15 activists, including a journalist, have been killed and around 14,000 activists have been arrested since 28 October during its ongoing movement demanding a caretaker government.