Osman Hadi shooting: Mirza Fakhrul condemns, demands security for all candidates
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has expressed concern over the shooting of possible independent candidate Sharif Osman Hadi in Dhaka, as well as demanded that the interim government ensure the security of all candidates in the upcoming election.
Mirza Fakhrul made the call while speaking at a discussion at the National Press Club in the capital shortly after Sharif Osman Hadi was shot in the capital’s Bijoynagar area on Friday afternoon.
The BNP Secretary General said, “We demand that the real culprit be identified immediately and brought under the law, and we call upon this government to ensure the security of all candidates without delay.”
Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of the prominent cultural platform Inqilab Moncho that emerged after the July uprising, has been campaigning as an independent candidate for Dhaka-8. This afternoon, two men on a motorcycle shot him in Bijoynagar and fled. He was first taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and later shift to Evercare Hospital.
BNP leaders believe the attack, which occurred just a day after the Election Commission announced the schedule for the 13th parliamentary election and the referendum with voting set for 12 February, is a conspiracy to sabotage the elections.
Mirza Fakhrul said, “I see a dark sign that the same forces are conspiring again to derail the election. Several days ago, you saw one of our candidates in Chattogram was shot.”
Calling on the government to take steps to make the election completely free of violence, he said, “We believe this is part of a plot. We urge that necessary measures be taken now to stop it.”
Mirza Fakhrul also said that BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman has called for nationwide demonstrations tomorrow, Saturday protesting the attack on the Sharif Osman Hadi.
Announcing that a national government will be formed after the election, the BNP Secretary General said, “We are committed to forming a national government with all parties during and after this election. Our commitment on this is strong. We believe the people of Bangladesh will vote for the pro-democracy forces. We think there will be no place for extremism here.”
Speaking as the chief guest at a discussion organised by the Bhashani Janashakti Party on the occasion of the 145th birth anniversary of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, the BNP Secretary General recalled the veteran leader.
Mirza Fakhrul said, “It is impossible to write the political history of Bangladesh without Maulana Bhashani’s name. He was the leader of the common people – an extraordinary political figure. He saw no contradiction between religion and socialism. Establishing a society free of discrimination was at the core of his political philosophy.”
Presided over by Bhashani Janashakti Party chairman Rafiqul Islam Bablu, the party’s Secretary General Abu Yusuf Selim and other leaders also spoke at the event.