Don’t make political parties your opponent: Mirza Fakhrul to interim govt

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday has called on the interim government not to make the political parties its opponents.

He made the call in a discussion marking the Martyred Intellectuals Day in the afternoon, in reaction to the statement of information and broadcasting affairs adviser Nahid Islam.

Nahid Islam last week said, “... the political parties want the reform initiatives to be implemented under them and they are trying to prove that the government has failed.”

The discussion, organised by the BNP, at the auditorium of The Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in the city. Mirza Fakhrul chaired the event.

“Please, don’t make the political parties your opponents. The political parties have been helping you; this is their responsibility. We have reiterated time and again, our chairman (acting chairman Tarique Rahman) stated, failure of this government means the people will fail, we will fail. Then, why would they say so? I think, either he has not realised its (the statement’s) significance or the context,” said Mirza Fakhrul.

Terming the information and broadcasting affairs adviser’s statement a “very serious allegation”, the BNP secretary general stated, “If he said this intentionally, I condemn this and request him to withdraw (the statement).”

Mirza Fakhrul said the time is a critical one. “We have to pass every moment with due cautiousness; every statement should be made very carefully. We won’t say anything that undermines our victory and achievement.”

He expressed that fascist Hasina has fled to India and taken shelter there. She has been planning there; digitally attended a meeting of the Awami League leaders and activists in London. That means she is active.

She has been working to get back her lost power, he warned the party leaders and activists.

“We also have to be active so that we can prevent them from returning. How could that be achieved? One of the ways is a solid unity of the people, and another is merit-based politics,” he stressed.

At that time, the BNP secretary general cited the movement of Students Against Discrimination. “We have waged a movement for 15 years. What superpower did these boys achieve that they achieved final victory in the battle within just two months? What was that power? That power was social media, their speeches, writings, their capacity to reach people - you will have to acquire those. You have to wage a movement on Facebook and Twitter.”

Addressing the party leaders and activists, Mirza Fakhrul said, “We have many tasks ahead. Many thought Sheikh Hasina had fled and their works were completed. A few minutes ago Sultan Salauddin Tuku said, ‘Our movement will continue until the election.’ No, we have to reach the stage where democracy will turn into our culture and a system.”

“The democracy we are talking about, that democracy is not just for words. That is a culture. How you and I will talk, how we would talk to our neighbours, with our political opponents - all these have to be learned through this democracy,” he stressed.

Mirza Fakhrul stated, “Democracy does not mean, chop off the head of someone if he is involved with the politics of Awami League or BNP. Democracy means learning to respect dissents. You have the right to speak, even against me. I will protect that (right), that is democracy.”

The BNP secretary urged the party leaders and activists not to neglect the days like Martyred Intellectuals Day. “Please, don’t neglect these days, try to learn about them. Many do not even know what happened on those days. This is not a day for clapping only. Our most respected personalities, the best teachers of Dhaka University were picked up on this day. They never returned. There were places like ‘Aynaghar’ in those days.”

Paying respect to the martyred intellectuals, late president Ziaur Rahman and other valiant freedom fighters, who laid down their lives, Mirza Fakhrul said, “I was talking to a person a few minutes ago. Now I’m observing a certain tendency - keeping 1971 a little aside. I think this is part of that conspiracy, an attempt to distance the nation from its actual history. For example, many term the partition in 1947 as a mistake.”

“Now we are observing, (attempts of) keeping 1971 a bit aside.… We have to remain vigilant about this. Our basic history … today’s liberated Bangladesh, in continuation of that history we are dreaming about a new Bangladesh through the mass uprising of 2024, let’s not distort that history.”

BNP’s publicity secretary Sultan Salauddin moderated the event where party standing committee members Abdul Moyeen Khan, Salahuddin Ahmed, Selima Rahman, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, economist professor Mahbub Ullah, Dhaka University pro-vice-chancellor professor Mamun Ahmed also addressed the programme.