Row in Politics: Jamaat chief links BNP to political “Fascism”
Opposition leader and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman on Saturday strongly accused the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of following the path of fascism, alleging that the government had failed to honour the referendum in which, he claimed, 70 per cent of voters supported reform.
“Two votes were held. One went in their favour, and they accepted it. In the other, 70 per cent of the people voted for reform — that they have not accepted.
This is shameful,” Shafiqur Rahman said while addressing a rally organised by Jamaat-e-Islami at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital on Saturday afternoon.
“The day the verdict of that 70 per cent is implemented, true fascism will finally depart from this country,” he added.
The rally, centred on the families of those killed in the July uprising and injured participants, featured strong criticism of the BNP government from several opposition figures.
Shafiqur Rahman described BNP as a “beneficiary” of the July mass uprising that led to the fall of the previous Awami League government, saying the party had gained politically without bearing the cost of the movement.
“Had the July uprising not happened, had people not given their lives, BNP would not be enjoying the warmth of power today,” he said.
“Those who were abroad got the chance to return home because of this revolution. Without it, they could not have even dreamed of coming back.”
He urged all political actors to honour those involved in the July movement, saying they had “brought the boat to shore and shown the nation the path to liberation”.
Shafiqur Rahman also criticised what he described as an attack on elected representatives of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) inside a police station, calling the incident deeply unfortunate.
He also referred to the reported attack on Jamaat MP Masum Mostafa in Netrokona on Friday, asking, “What kind of Bangladesh is this? Is this the Bangladesh you wanted?”
Warning against campus violence, he said, “We want to see notebooks and pens, not machetes and axes in students’ hands.”
He cautioned that if political intimidation on campuses was not stopped, “July will come again — not just in 2024, but every year — and then fascism will finally be buried.”
Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar said that five crore people had voted “Yes” in the referendum, effectively rejecting BNP’s note of dissent, and demanded full implementation of the referendum verdict.
Jatiya Ganatantrik Party (Jagpa) Chairperson Tasmia Pradhan alleged that the government was disrespecting the July martyrs on the floor of parliament.
“They cannot hear the cries of the martyrs’ families,” she said.
Rokeya Begum, mother of martyr Jabir Ibrahim, speaking on behalf of bereaved families, said implementation of the July Charter remained the foremost demand of the families of the deceased and the injured.
Shahidul Islam, father of martyr Farhan Faiyaz, demanded that the charter be implemented “word for word, comma for comma”.
Atikul Islam, a July movement participant who lost his hand during the uprising, warned: “Those who wish to strangle this mandate by the throat will have to flee power.”
Separately, National Citizens’ Party (NCP) Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain accused BNP of betraying public expectations after coming to power based on promises linked to the referendum.
“When BNP says that because they formed the government with a majority vote they can do as they please — that stance is tantamount to fraud against the referendum mandate,” he said while speaking as chief guest at a national coordination meeting of NCP’s youth wing, Jatiya Juboshakti, where a seven-member partial committee was announced.
“It is deeply unfortunate that on the very first day of taking oath after the election, the BNP government betrayed the people,” he added, accusing the party of ignoring the spirit of July and taking unilateral decisions.
