Bangabandhu Parishad (BP) on Saturday denounced an "advertisement" with statement of 40 foreign nationals for former Managing Director of Grameen Bank Dr Muhammad Yunus terming it as a motivated one and deviation of reality.
"The abrupt call of the 40 foreign nationals to support and recognize the 'great' contribution of Dr Muhammad Yunus with less than a year left for the next general election indicates that there is a special purpose behind such a call," said 50 intellectuals of the Parishad in a joint statement signed by BP President (acting) Professor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique and General Secretary Professor ABM Faruque.
It has been earlier observed that a vested quarter including this person (Yunus) played an active role in a planned way to cancel foreign loans for the Padma Bridge project raising so called allegation of corruption ahead of the January 5, 2014 national elections, they added.
"Their target was to prevent Awami League (AL), which led the Liberation War, from coming to the state power. But despite their failure of that attempt, it seemed that hatching conspiracy is yet to stop," said the intellectuals.
In the statement, they said Dr Yunus does not seem to have any impediment to his personal security and carrying out other business activities, including disbursement of loans of his concerned institutions.
"If he did any good deed, the country's people will evaluate it. But call of 40 foreign citizens to support and recognize his 'great' contribution and publishing it as an advertisement across a page of a newspaper like the Washington Post is not understandable," they added.
The intellectuals added: "We think that there is an indirect pressure on the government and special politics behind this activity of the foreign citizens. We believe that the people of the country will not be misled by such false and purposeful statements."
Noting that former United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki Moon had termed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the role model for developing countries while many international dignitaries also made such comments, they said, "We thought it has been possible to publish such an advisement in the newspaper like the Washington Post as many of them are not aware about Dr Yunus' activities against the country (Bangladesh) and the public interest."
Former Vice Chancellor (VC) of Rajshahi University Professor Abdul Khaleque, former Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) VC Professor Dr Kamrul Hasan Khan, senior journalists Shafiqur Rahman, MP, and Ajit Kumar Sarker, and BSMMU Professor Dr Sheikh Abdullah Al Mamun were among the signatories.
