BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday raised a question about the independence of the judiciary since a former ruling party MP and his wife was granted bail on Tuesday hours after they had been ordered to send to jail in Pirojpur.

“The Pirojpur incident has exposed that the government is controlling the judiciary,” he said.

The BNP leader came up with the remark while talking to reporters in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office before going to appear before a Dhaka court.

Earlier on Tuesday, Pirojpur district and sessions Judge Abdul Mannan passed an order to send former AL MP AKM Awal and his wife Laila Parvin to jail rejecting their bail prayers in three corruption cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) last year.

As local Awami League leaders and activists and pro-ruling party lawyers started demonstrations on the court premises protesting the order, Judge Abdul Mannan was stand-released making Joint District and Sessions Judge Nahid Nasrin as the acting district and sessions judge of Pirojpur a few hours later.

The acting district and sessions granted the couple bail for two months accepting a review petition filed by them.

Fakhrul said the court was forced to grant bail to the ex-AL MP and his wife in cases failed by the ACC. “This incident has proved there is no rule of law in the country.  It has also nakedly manifested that the judiciary is not independent here.”

About Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader’s criticism for raising question about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming Dhaka visit to attend the Mujib Year celebrations, Fakhrul questioned the timing of his arrival following the sectarian clashes in Delhi.

“We talked about the way communal riots and divisions have been created in his (Modi’s) country over the NRC. Political parties and different organisations in Bangladesh got aggrieved over it (Delhi riots) and they are expressing their reaction to it. That’s why we questioned how much decent it will be for him to come to Bangladesh at this time.”

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Sunday said the Indian Prime Minister is likely to arrive here on March 17 (morning) to attend the birth centenary celebrations of Bangabandhu.