Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will address the nation this evening on the occasion of Victory Day.

The prime minister will deliver her speech at 7:30pm today, Prime Minister's Office (PMO)'s press wing sources said.

Her speech will be aired by Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar as well as private TV channels and radio stations.

The government is planning to amend the Representation of People Order (RPO) to disqualify Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman from the election, BNP alleged today.

"The government is engaged in hatching a deep-rooted conspiracy to remove Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman from the party's leadership,” the party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged in a press conference at Nayapaltan.

It is trying to add a similar article to the RPO which BNP revoked from its party charter – one that will disqualify Khaleda or Tarique to contest in an election, he said.

"Don't walk through an immoral path. Arrange the next general election under a non-party neutral government returning back to the path of democracy," Fakhrul called upon the government.

DEMO FRIDAY FOR KHALEDA'S RELEASE

BNP will stage demonstrations across the country, including the capital, on Friday demanding release of its Chairperson Khaleda Zia from jail and her immediate better treatment.

“We hope the authorities concerned will take necessary steps allowing us to exercise our democratic rights,” Fakhrul said.

Fakhrul said the programme will be held at all district and upazila level headquarters on that day which will also register the party's protest against the government’s “inhumane attitude towards Khaleda”.

As part of the protest, BNP will stage a demonstration in front of its Nayapaltan central office around 3:00pm on the same day.

On February 8, a Special Dhaka court convicted Khaleda and sentenced her to five years' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today (September 8, 2022) slammed the Indian government for not inviting her to be a part of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's India visit.

Mamata also said she was curious to know why Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government was "worried" about her meeting foreign dignitaries, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

"I share an excellent relationship with Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, but [the government] did not invite me to be a part of her visit," she said while addressing a special session of her party Trinamool Congress at the Netaji Subhash Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.

"I don't want to talk about external affairs or bilateral ties. But I have noticed that the Centre tries to stop me whenever I am invited to any foreign country. I want to know why is the union government so worried about me meeting foreign dignitaries," Mamata said.

Hasina, who wrapped her four-day state visit to India today, had during an interaction with the media at the Bangladesh high commission in New Delhi on September 6, said Mamata was like her sister and expressed disappointment over not being able to meet the West Bengal chief minister in Delhi.

In July this year, Hasina had written a letter to Mamata expressing her interest to meet the chief minister during her September visit to Delhi.

On the other hand, a senior official of the Indian government stated that the central government does not invite chief ministers for such events.

"Sometimes, chief ministers are invited for state banquets or some other ceremonial events but there was no such occasion during the visit of Hasina this time," the official pointed out.

"In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in fact invited [West Bengal] Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Bangladesh where a ceremonial event was held for flagging-off a bus service between the two countries," the official recalled.

The prosecution yesterday told a Dhaka court that Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of BNP, was the chief architect of the August 21 grenade attack that killed 24 people including Ivy Rahman, former president of Bangladesh Mahila Awami League and wife of late President Zillur Rahman.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the chief of Awami League narrowly escaped the attack with an ear injury.

Two cases -- one for murder and another under the Explosive Substances Act -- were filed against 49 people with Motijheel Police Station.

In March 2012, the tribunal framed charges against the accused in the two cases.

At yesterday's hearing, Mosharraf Hossain, one of the public prosecutors (PP) of the cases, told the court that Tarique had instigated the deadly grenade attack on an AL rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in 2004 from behind the scene.

Mosharraf said this while placing his arguments before the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 of Dhaka.

The court of Judge Shahed Nuruddin fixed today for the hearing's resumption, as Mosharraf was unable to complete placing the arguments.

During yesterday's arguments, PP Mosharraf told the court that Tarique was a powerful BNP leader who had provided all kinds of “administrative assistance to the perpetrators for committing such heinous offences without hindrance”.

The grenade attack was carried out to kill top AL leaders including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in order to cling to state power forever, Mosharraf added.

The prosecution has thus “completely proved the charges of the criminal conspiracy beyond any doubt” against all the accused, including Tarique, and the evidence and documents were enough to punish them in the cases, the prosecutor argued.

Earlier, both the prosecution and the defence had taken 115 working days to complete the arguments of the cases, from which the prosecution took 26 days while the defence took 89.

The court recorded statements of 225 prosecution witnesses, including the complainant of the case and 20 defence witnesses.

Of the 49 accused, eight, including three former inspector generals of police, are now on bail; 18, including BNP Senior Vice Chairman [currently acting chief] Tarique, are on the run; and 23, including former BNP ministers Lutfozzaman Babar and Abdus Salam Pintu, are in jail.