Politics

Khaleda to meet allies on Savar

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will be meeting the top leaders of the opposition alliance in the wake of one of the worst industrial disasters in the country, which so far claimed over 300 lives.

   

The nine-storey building Rana Plaza collapsed on Wednesday with thousands of garment workers who were working in the factories inside.

BNP’s Standing Committee will meet at 8:30 pm on Saturday at the chairperson’s Gulshan office. This will be followed by another meeting of the top leaders of the 18-party alliance at around 9:30 pm at the same venue.

“The meetings have been called to discuss the building collapse at Savar and other political issues,” said Khaleda Zia’s Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan.

Pro-shutdown men razed plaza, says Alamgir

Home Minister MK Alamgir reiterated the role of shutdown supporters in the collapse of Savar’s nine-storied Rana Plaza.

“So-called shutdown supporters were banging the weak pillars to shut the factories (during the opposition’s strike),” he said at a press briefing at his ministry on Thursday.

It would be investigated to see if this had caused or accelerated the cave-in, he said.

He repeatedly referred to the matter at the briefing.

Journalists had raised questions in this regard based on his interview to the BBC on Wednesday.

In the interview, Alamgir had said shutdown supporters pounded the pillars – which according to him already had cracks on them – and the gate of the building. He said this could be the reason behind the collapse.

“...The fundamentalists BNP had called the shutdown. I was told some hired supporters went there and shook the gates…and the pillars… This might be the reason behind the collapse,” he had said.

When asked whether it was possible, he said, “... When part of a building caves in, it affects the whole. This might have happened.”

Alamgir’s comments generated much heat in the media and social networks.

It is, however, not clear if his comments were aimed to shield the building owner – one from his party – Juba League Senior Joint Convenor Sohel Rana. The owner had dismissed the cracks that surfaced a day before the collapse as ‘nothing serious’.

There were five readymade garment units housed in the ill-fated building. Allegations rose that the owners forced the workers inside the building for work.

Death toll from the collapse is climbing to stand at 187 around 2:00pm on Thursday. Over a thousand were injured and many were still missing. There were about 3,500 workers employed in those five garment units.

Building owner Sohel Rana himself was trapped in the basement of the building. He was rescued by local MP Touhid Jong Murad.

Home Minister had said culprits identified in probe would not be spared at any cost, no matter they were ‘relatives of any party or person’. “Nobody will be spared on the basis of wealth.”

Qamrul tells BNP to sever ties with Jamaat

State Minister for Law Qamrul Islam on Tuesday urged the main opposition BNP to sever ties with the Jamaat-e-Islami if it wanted to hold talks with the ruling alliance to resolve the debate over the form of government which would oversee the next general elections.

The Awami League leader also told the BNP to join Parliament for talks on the constitutional obligation of holding the next general election under an interim government.

“The next general election will be held under an interim government as per the constitutional obligation. The Election Commission will organise the election. We can only strengthen the Election Commission,” the junior law minister said at his Secretariat office.


Urging the BNP to join the House, he said: “We can discuss in Parliament about what the position and role of the elected representatives will be in the interim administration. We can find out an acceptable electoral formula through talks with the participation of all.”

He, however, said that there were some ‘barriers’ in holding talks with the BNP.

“Dialogue is the only path to resolve any problem. But whom shall you talk to – when a political party behaves like an extremist organisation. When extremism takes over the behaviour of political leaders. When they indulge in illegal activities and pose a threat to the judiciary,” the minister asked making a dig at the BNP.

Referring to BNP’s ties with Jamaat, Qamrul said: “No talks will be fruitful until they (BNP) part ways with the Jamaat. Except the Jamaat we all uphold the spirits and achievements of the Liberation War and no talks are possible until we narrow the gap on the war crimes trial.”

Home Minister feels the heat for ‘loose’ comment

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Two leaders of the ruling Awami League have criticised the comments by the Home Minister following the devastating collapse of a nine-storey building in Savar.

Awami League Presidium Member and Communication Minister Obaidul Quader urged Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir to not make any loose comments about the massive crisis at Savar.

Rescuers have come up with a list of 659 people who are still missing in the most fatal incident of a building collapse in the country.

Mohammad Nasim, another Presidium member, urged the Home Minister to come out of the tendency to place blames on others. The Home Minister in the 1996 government, Nasim also expressed his displeasure at the fact that the building’s owner was still at large.

Alamgir in an interview to BBC on Wednesday, the day of the disaster, said he had information that suggested some pro-shutdown activists shook the building and its collapsible gate before the disaster. He stated that it may be a cause of the collapse of the vulnerable structure.

The Home Minister repeated this claim to reporters the next day.

When asked about his reaction, Obaidul Quader who was taking part in a programme in Munshiganj said, “The tragedy at Savar is a humanitarian crisis. The time requires the government and the opposition to work together. It is important to contribute to the rescue efforts and stand by the helpless victims and not make loose claims...”

He also said those responsible for this massive loss of life should be quickly prosecuted.

Nasim who was taking part at a discussion in the capital on Friday said, “The government’s influential ministers are making unnecessary comments and tainting the government in the eye of the public. Blame is being put on others for any incident.”

He urged those responsible to come out of the culture of playing the blame game.

Nasim also demanded that Savar’s Upazila Executive Officer be removed and punished for permitting the use of the nine-storey building even after big cracks appeared in its structure the day before.

He demanded the immediate arrest of the building’s owner Mohammad Sohel Rana, a local Jubo League leader. “Everyone knows who the owner is. There is no need for evidence and investigation in this matter. Why did he run away? Only criminals run after committing crimes. The criminal has to be arrested and punished no matter who he is.”

Death toll in the Savar tragedy swelled to 304 on Friday afternoon, roughly after 50 hours since the collapse of Rana Plaza, with around 2,000 people injured and still more trapped under the rubble.