Controversy over BNP secretary general’s interview, strong reactions from Jamaat and NCP

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) no longer considers the National Citizen Party (NCP) as a force. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami will not be allowed to climb back on top. Jamaat’s strength is far less than the importance the BNP unnecessarily attached to it.

Such remarks were attributed to BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in an interview published in Kolkata-based Bengali newspaper Ei Samay. The interview appeared in the newspaper’s online edition on Monday.

The interview, published under the headline “Why does India put BNP and Jamaat in the same bracket? — Mirza Asks”, has sparked stir and controversy in Bangladesh’s political arena.

Jamaat-e-Islami has issued strong condemnation and protest over some of the comments, while NCP leaders have also reacted to the interview.

However, the BNP has clarified on behalf of its secretary general, who is currently in the United States with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, that the Ei Samay interview was misrepresented and misleading. The party also said that the BNP secretary general did not make such remarks.

The interview opened with questions regarding the upcoming national elections. Mirza Fakhrul Islam was asked whether a national election would indeed be held in Bangladesh in February next year, given that Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP have been placing one demand after another, warning that the polls will not take place unless those are met, which has left many in doubt.

Mirza Fakhrul’s reply, as reported, was that the vote would indeed be held in February next year. There was no room for doubt, he said — there would be no unrest. The people want their right to vote restored, they want elections. The polls would be festive in February.

On the point that Jamaat’s demand that elections will not be accepted without the PR (proportional representation) system, and that the NCP is demanding the annulment of the existing Constitution and fresh Constituent Assembly polls first, otherwise elections will not take place, the interview attributed this response to Mirza Fakhrul: “Jamaat will come to the polls. Nothing like PR, but under the conventional system in which the people understand elections, that is how the polls will be held in Bangladesh. You will see, Jamaat will participate. And as for the NCP, we no longer even consider them a force. It is true that it was these students who lit the fuse in the powder keg against Sheikh Hasina. But they have nothing left now. They cannot even draw a crowd when called.”

The interview further stated that the NCP’s only aim now is to prevent the BNP from forming a government.

According to the Ei Samay interview, Jamaat had asked the BNP for 30 seats in the upcoming election, but the BNP showed little enthusiasm.

The answer printed also read, “I assure you, we will not allow Jamaat to climb back on top. Their actual strength is far less than the importance we unnecessarily gave them. All this PR talk is nothing but a tactic to put pressure on the BNP. But Jamaat is actually preparing for the elections. It is announcing names of candidates in different places. In reality, people strongly want elections. The army wants it. The Chief Adviser of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, also wants it.”

On whether the BNP and Jamaat continue to be mentioned together because of their 25-year partnership, the published answer was, “False. The Awami League has succeeded in convincing India of this propaganda. They were merely electoral allies. They practise religious politics, we do not. In fact, by looking at Bangladesh through the Awami League’s lens, India has made the mistake. They kept no contact with others. Today the mountain of anger against the Awami League has boiled over into intense anti-India sentiment.”

Asked whether parties such as the Awami League, JASAD or Workers’ Party would be able to contest the upcoming elections, Mirza Fakhrul’s printed response was, “We have said that the Awami League and its allies, even the Jatiya Party, should all take part in the polls. Let there be a free and fair election. For this I am being abused as an Indian agent, as an Awami League lackey. But why should we repeat the misdeeds of Sheikh Hasina? For 15 years she never allowed her opponents to stand for election — and she has paid the price. If we do the same, we too would face the consequences. But the people have seen so much blood, so many lives lost — their sentiment is against the Awami League.”

As parts of the interview spread across various media outlets and social platforms, the political arena was ablaze with debate.

Speaking to the media around 4;00 pm on Tuesday, BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan said that he had contacted Mirza Fakhrul in the US regarding the matter. Mirza Fakhrul confirmed to him that he had not made such remarks.

News reports published in Bangladesh under various headlines on the basis of the Ei Samay interview were false and misleading, Sayrul Kabir said.

Reacting strongly to the remarks attributed to Mirza Fakhrul about Jamaat-e-Islami, the party’s secretary general Mia Golam Parwar issued a statement condemning them.

He said the BNP secretary general had spoken in a disdainful tone about Jamaat’s politics and organisational standing. Such comments, he said, were entirely untrue, disrespectful, and vindictive, inconsistent with truth or propriety.

Golam Parwar said, “If these comments are indeed his (Mirza Fakhrul), then we are compelled to protest and condemn them. At the same time, if these comments are his, then we ask him in unequivocal terms to present before the nation the proof of to whom Jamaat-e-Islami demanded these seats.”

Denying outright that Jamaat had asked the BNP for 30 seats, Golam Parwar added in his statement, “At present, Jamaat-e-Islami has no connection whatsoever with the politics of asking for seats from anyone.”

He called upon the BNP secretary general to refrain from making such false and misleading remarks in future.

Meanwhile, NCP convener Nahid Islam responded regarding the comments about his party in the interview, saying that it will be the people who will give verdict as to whether the NCP is a force or not, on the streets and at the ballot box.

Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon, in response to a question regarding the harassment of Akhter Hossen at New York airport, Nahid Islam said this.

Stating that there is no scope to bring Awami League in the election, he expressed, “We see that on one side, the Awami League is carrying out terrorist activities, and on the other, certain politicians are conspiring to bring the Awami League back into the elections. We want to state clearly, there is no scope for bringing the Awami League back into elections, nor for rehabilitating them in politics. Those who attempt this will face the people’s resistance. Their politics will vanish from Bangladesh.”