Hours after his acquittal by the High Court in the August 21 grenade attack case, Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman on Sunday said that the beauty of truth is that it inevitably triumphed over propaganda and conspiracy.
鈥楲et us unite to end political vengeance and open a new chapter in history, where no one鈥檚 life or family will be destroyed because of political differences,鈥� Tarique said in a status in his verified Facebook profile.
鈥榃e pledge to uphold the spirit of democracy that thrives on diversity of faiths, beliefs, and ideologies, empowering the people of Bangladesh to define their own fate through electoral participation,鈥� he added.
鈥業n that journey, we aspire to establish the rule of law, human rights, and freedom of expression, safeguarding the rights and liberties of every citizen and building an inclusive, tolerant, and rules-based society,鈥� he said.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday expressed his relief over the acquittal of BNP Tarique Rahman and all accused in the August 21 grenade attack case.
In a statement given from London, he said, 鈥業t has been proved that all the cases against Tarique Rahman were conspiratorial.鈥�
鈥業 express my gratitude to Allah for the judgment by High Court bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hussain, cancelling the judgment of the trial court,鈥� he said.
He said that this judgment proves that the Awami fascist government made Tarique Rahman accused in this case with political motives.
鈥楾arique Rahman has been acquitted by the High Court after his dealing with the charges brought against him. Through the historic judgment, it has been proved once again that all the cases brought against Tarique Rahman were political conspiracies,鈥� he added.
On the other hand, addressing a programme in Dhaka, BNP standing committee Mirza Abbas said that the party acting chairman Tarique will return to the country soon.
He gave this information at a discussion at the National Press Club.
鈥楾he case was based on false and concocted stories. It was a planned conspiracy by a foreign power. Justice has now been served,鈥� Abbas said.
鈥楾arique Rahman will come back to us. His long suffering is about to end. Allah kept him healthy and freed him. BNP will always work for democracy and justice,鈥� he said.
Abbas highlighted the importance of independent journalism and said, 鈥榃e want freedom of the press, but we don鈥檛 want bad journalism.鈥�
Democracy and independent journalism are complementary to each other, he said, adding that many BNP leaders were victims of bad journalism in previous time.
On August 21, 2004, at least 24 people were killed and about 300 others injured in a grenade attack on the Awami League rally in Dhaka鈥檚 Bangabandhu Avenue.
On October 10, 2018, a court in Dhaka sentenced 19 people to death, including former BNP home minister Lutfuzzaman Babar, in two cases filed in connection with the grenade attack.
19 people including Tarique Rahman, who is currently in London, were sentenced to life imprisonment and 11 others to different terms.
