Shrugging off all the misconceptions and misinterpretations about its policy, opposition BNP on Sunday assured the Hindu community of staying beside them in upholding and protecting their rights.
“We’ve our full support for all the justified demands of the Hindu community. We won’t allow passing any law against your interests. BNP will always be there with the Hindu community in protecting your rights,“ said BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
He was addressing a discussion marking Rath Yatra Utsab of Sri Sri Jagannath Deb at the temple of The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) at Swamibagh in the city.
Making his party’s stance clear about the Hindu community, Fakhrul said BNP believes in the freedom of all religions as per its constitution. “We don’t give priority to any particular religion. We’ve no policy discrimination, but there’re wrong interoperations about our party policy.”
Mentioning that those who want to create divisions by using the religion enemy of Bangladesh, he alleged that a vested quarter is spreading the communal venom and trying to create divisions using the religion. “We don’t believe in the politics of division.”
Fakhrul said the country is passing through a critical time. “Democracy is now at stake. We’ll have to get united to protect democracy.”
ISKCON treasurer Sukhi Sushil Das Bramachari gave the welcome speech at the discussion chaired by its president Satya Ranjan Barai.
BNP chairperson’s adviser Abdul Awal Mintu BNP executive member Goutam Chakrabarti were, among others, present.
Source: UNBConnect
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the Acting Secretary General of BNP, has done the correct thing by reassuring the Hindu community that his party does not believe in any discrimination based on religious faith and that the rights of all communities in Bangladesh will be defended by BNP. There are misconceptions that the party supports religious extremism and it condones the violent behaviour of some fanatic (so-called Jihadi) groups. BNP should make it clear by policy statement and also by practice that it is liberal democratic party and it stands for equal rights of all citizens irrespective of religious faith and ethnic identity of the citizens of Bangladesh.
Recent City Corporations elections have shown that the Government party (Awami League) and its so-called left allies have lost popular support. Different opinion polls indicate that the popular support for the AL at the present time is about 25-28%, while that for BNP is about 72-75%. The huge support for BNP is based mainly on the negative perception of the AL government during the last 4+ years. But it is also necessary for BNP to come up with positive policy statements on various issues where the present government has failed.
I fully endorse what Mr. Malik has said re BNP’s stand on minority issues. It must through statements and actions demonstrate its solidarity with all minority groups, religious or otherwise and project the party as a true nationalist party committed to preservation of country’s as well as that of each of its citizen’s rights and sovereignty. At the same time BNP must equally emphasize and make it explicit through policy statements that it does not back or ally with, with any form of extremism, Islamic or otherwise. One more issue, while we all know that Tareque Zia is important to BNP, but given his sullied background the party will do well to distance itself, to the extent possible that is, from this man until he legally clears his name from all the allegations and charges of corruption and abuse that have been laid upon him since.
In this article, Mr. Fakhrul Islam is quoted as saying: “…We’ve no policy discrimination, but there’re wrong interpretations about our party policy”. I think BNP owes an explanation what that wrong interpretation is. When it comes to administering a country, there is no minority and no majority. The entire nation together must stand behind our flag united as one people. I think we should stop identifying people based on their religious faith. BNP as well as other political parties must stop identifying people of our country as Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim, in the first place, if they want peace development of Bangladesh, particularly after so much setback in recent years due to corruption and mismanagement.