Dhaka: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Tuesday alleged that the government has now brought militancy issue in the limelight ahead of the Prime Minister’s India tour as part of its plot of to implement an evil design.

“The government has set up a trap by bringing the militancy issue in the forefront as it’s moving ahead to execute its evil plan either to perpetuate its power or to sign a defence deal with India,” said BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

Speaking at a press conference at BNP’s central office in capital Dhaka, he further said, “Militant activities have emerged at a time when the country’s people burst into anger protesting the proposed defence deal with India. People think that giving a sudden rise in militant activities is a trick to divert people’s attention to a different direction.” 

The BNP leader said though the ruling party leaders and ministers are making various statements on the defence deal, the LGRD Minister said he does not know about it. “His remark has manifested the mastery behind the deal.”

Opposing the extrajudicial killing of militant suspects, Rizvi said, “Our constitution doesn’t give any approval to crossfire, gunfight, abduction and enforced disappearance. So, the government’s suppressive policy to eliminate militancy doesn’t support our constitution. At the same time, the militant networks remain unknown through the extrajudicial killing of the arrested militant suspects.”

Referring to Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader’s remark that militancy is a barrier to the next general election, he said, “His comment clearly exposed who is the beneficiary of the militancy and who has kept it alive to cling to power.”

Rizvi also said it is now clear to people that the government has created the militant issue to thwart a demand for a fair and credible and neutral election.

Pointing at a report in the Independent, an English national daily, on the proposed defence deal, he said the report was published in the newspaper which is owned by a Prime Minister’s adviser at the behest of the government to judge people’s pulse.

“Any defence deal is a very sensitive issue as it has direct link with our independence and sovereignty. The country’s people won’t allow any one to play a game with the country’s independence and sovereignty that achieved at the cost of blood of lakhs of martyrs,” he warned.