Staff Reporter :
The Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, on Tuesday said Awami League has fought in the liberation war but it has failed to keep its achievement intact.
“It is more important that how the Awami League thought about itself than how the people considered it (AL),” the Jamaat Ameer said while participated a view exchange meeting with the members of Indian Media Correspondent Association, Bangladesh (IMCAB) in an auditorium at Moghbazar in Dhaka.
Replying to a question, the Jamaat Ameer said former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should not have left the country in the face of the student-led mass upsurge. This is unbecoming of a politician.
“It would have been better had she not left the country. It would have been better had Ganobhaban not been overrun by the crowds,” he said.
The Jamaat Ameer said that the interim government should be given reasonable time to create a level playing field before the next general elections.
“They (interim government) should get reasonable time to repair state institutions like the judiciary and the Election Commission before the election,’ said the Jamaat chief, adding, “It should neither be too long nor too short.”
Replying to a question, he said the immediate-past government of Awami League destroyed all institutions like the judiciary, the Election Commission, the police force and the administration. These need to be fixed first before holding the next national polls, he said.
‘Let’s all of us have patience about it (election),’ he said.
Hasina fled the country on August 5 after resigning as the country’s prime minister, and took refuge in India. Shortly after she departed on a military helicopter, thousands of people stormed into her official residence, Ganobhaban, and the prime minister’s office, and many were seen looting whatever they found there.
Among the IMCAB members, Basudeb Dhar, Pradipta Narayan, Farid Hossain, Rajib Khan, Quddus Afrad, Masum Billah, Mizanur Rahman, Rashedul Islam, Monirul Islam, Abu Ali, Aminul Haque Bhuiyan, Siam Sarwar Jamil, Kausar Azam, Tariqul Islam, Rajib Khan, Shaheen Parvez, Zakir Hossain and Md. Monir Hossain among others was attended.
The Jamaat Ameer denounced Monday’s (August 26, 2024) demonstration inside the Indian Visa Application Center (IVAC) at Dhaka’s Jamuna Future Park, saying it was ‘contradictory.’
“I don’t think any person with a sound mind can do it. Those who did it cannot be condoned,” Dr. Shaifq said emphatically.
When his attention was drawn to the demonstrators’ slogans like ‘Indian agents, beware,’ and ‘We want visas,’ Dr. Shafiq said their demands have been contradictory.
“How come they are calling some Indian agents, and at the same time asking for Indian visas?”
“We don’t like to tag anyone as an agent of a country. We all are citizens of Bangladesh,” the Jamaat leader said.
“This has not been the only factor,” Dr. Shafiq said when asked to comment on the allegation that India’s release of water through the Dumboor dam in bordering Tripura state caused the ongoing devastating flood in eastern Bangladesh, especially Feni and Cumilla.
He blamed the worst floods in decades on three factors: excessive rainfall, sudden release of dam water, and lack of forewarning by India. It is understood that the release of water was necessary, but India could have warned the lower riparian Bangladesh early. Neighbours must help each other, he said.