Interview
I’m basically a soldier of Joy Bangla: Shahjahan Omar
You had been engaged in the politics of BNP for 44 years, but have recently embraced the ruling Awami League all on a sudden and become an electoral candidate with the boat symbol. What about the public reaction in your constituency?
Honestly, there is no division between Awami League and BNP in my area. I have long been engaged in politics. The BNP members have always been voting for me, while the Awami League followers also cast votes in my favour. I am acceptable to all.
From the politics of BNP, you have directly joined its political rival Awami League and boarded the boat for the election and a constituency. Does the ethical issue come up in the middle?
I had protested against BNP activities long ago. A democratic process cannot continue this way, and also, there are some issues of political culture and behaviour. It is too tough to keep up with politics if these issues are not maintained.
I also raised the issue during a Skype conversations with Tarique Rahman and told him that his rough and tough words are no longer tolerable. I humbly requested him to take the path of democracy, but he turned a deaf ear. Therefore, I was not feeling comfortable in the BNP. The party frequently boycott elections, while my stance is in favour of joining polls. Since I was struggling to adjust with the BNP, I changed the party.
You secured bail in a case on the day before your nomination from the Awami League. But some senior BNP leaders were denied bail in the same case.
Here is a type of misunderstanding. Lawyer Joynal Abedin, Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Nitai Roy Chowdhury, and I had applied for anticipatory bail, and 6 November was fixed as the date of the hearing. Meanwhile, I got arrested on 4 November and could not receive bail. But the three others were granted bail as lawyers. I could receive bail with them had I not been arrested in the meantime. Hence, my bail is nothing different from the regular ones; I received bail through the due legal process.
You were in jail following your arrest and granted remand in a vandalism and arson case in the capital’s New Market area. You received bail on 29 November and walked out of jail within hours. On the next day, you have been chosen as an electoral candidate directly by the Awami League. All these incidents have taken place so fast ...
Why does it seem fast? The bail came in the morning, and I walked out of jail in the afternoon. And, you mentioned the issue of nomination on the next day; I am basically a soldier of Joy Bangla. I fought in the Liberation War in 1971 with the Joy Bangla slogan. Ziaur Rahman was my teacher at the Pakistan Military Academy. When he joined politics in 1978, he engaged me with his party. The Awami League was suffering from leadership issues as ‘Netri’ (Sheikh Hasina) was not in the country then. In 1991, I approached the party to run in the election, but did not get a chance as it had already fixed its nominations.
How did you secure a nomination this time? I mean, what was the medium of communication?
I don't actually know. I came out of jail on 29 November. A gentleman, beyond my acquaintance, phoned me from the Prime Minister’s Office in the following morning and said the prime minister was interested in meeting me. He fixed an appointment at 11:00 am on 30 November. Of course, Bangabandhu and his daughter follow the democratic course, and I have full respect to them.
I met her at 11:00 am, and the prime minister asked me to run in the election. In response, I said, “I will run in the election if you offer me the boat symbol.” Then, she said, “You are a pro-liberation force, and I have no issues to engage you with the party. If you come forward, I would welcome.” Alright, I signed and joined the Awami League. She offered me a ticket for the boat within an hour. I filled up the nomination form and rushed to my constituency. Submitting the form there, I returned to Dhaka.
At a time when the BNP is at the final stage of their anti-government movement, you came out of jail, left the party, and announced candidacy with the boat symbol. Some BNP leaders consider this as an incident of back stabbing ...
Not at all, I didn’t back stab. I believe in democracy and wanted the party to join the election. But I noticed that they don’t want to join the polls. I developed a firm belief that the BNP will join an election whenever they get an assurance of power. But when we will get guarantee of power, how long we will suffer, things should not go this way. Still, the BNP will not participate in the election; rather, (it seems) a third party will help them assume power. I was against (the thought) as it is quite impossible to be powerful with the help of others if a party doesn’t have its own power.
We will join no election; what type of decision is this! I am a election-oriented person. Hence, I have participated in the vote.
After your nomination, a man was spotted with a gun just beside you during a rally in your constituency. Why was the gun taken there?
It should not be a topic of discussion. It was my licensed gun, and it was taken there for security. He was holding the gun as there was no space in the car to store it.
But it is not allowed to show a licensed gun in public.
He was asked to take a position at a corner outside the rally with the gun, but he mistakenly stayed in the rally. It was an unintentional mistake, and I regret it.
Since you have changed the side, joined the ruling party, and are participating in the election, it seems that you have joined the polls with the assurance of victory.
No, I will disagree with you at this point. I didn’t change the party for a constituency. I have joined the election, and the people will cast their votes. I will win if they vote for me, and will not win if they don’t. This is what democracy is.
Is it the actual scenario? Or is it going to be a one-sided election?
They (BNP) could not term the election as one-sided had they participated. The contest could be tough if they joined the election.
* This interview, originally published in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten by Misbahul Haque