Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir addresses a rally, protesting at the removal of the medal of Swadhnata Award conferred on late president Ziaur Rahman, at National Press Club in Dhaka on Friday.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s senior leaders on Friday said the government has to pay a heavy price if it relocates the grave of late president Ziaur Rahman, founder of the party, from Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital.
The party leaders said taking away the Swadhinata Padak conferred on Zia is an insult to the entire nation, liberation war of the country and freedom fighters.
They came up with the statements when addressing a protest rally at the auditorium of National Press Club organised by BNP Dhaka city unit to protest at the ‘withdrawal’ of Swadhinata Padak conferred on the ‘proclaimer’ of independence Ziaur Rahman.
BNP on Thursday declared a protest rally in metropolitan cities and district headquarters across the country for Saturday and in Dhaka city for Friday against removal of Swadhinata Padak conferred on Zia from the National Museum.
Dhaka city BNP convenor Mirza Abbas who presided over the day’s protest rally announced that the demonstration would be held at thanas in Dhaka city on Saturday.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir addressing the rally said those who wanted to relocate the grave of Zia are living in a ‘fool’s paradise ’.
He said they (the incumbent government) would have to pay a heavy price if it relocates Zia’s grave.
He said BNP leaders and activists cannot sit idle and will have to come together to unite people and restore democracy through a movement for establishing people’s government, defeating those who want to destroy the country.
Fakhrul said the removal and withdrawal of the Swadhinata Padak conferred on Zia was the worst decision in the political history of Bangladesh.He said taking away the Swadhinata Padak on Zia means taking away the Swadhinata Padak of the entire nation.
He said when the political leadership had failed to give direction to the nation, Zia had then proclaimed independence, joined the liberation war and inspired the nation with the independence war.
He questioned where the ministers, who are now spitting venom against Zia, were during the Liberation War.
Those who are making comments against Zia and decided to withdraw the Padak conferred on him (Zia) were never involved with the liberation war, he said, adding that they (the ruling Awami League) have been working for a long time to erase the name of Zia from history.
He lamented that the people of Bangladesh have been belittled before the world as the world thinks we do not know how to respect those who had brought the country’s independence.
Fakhrul said this incident (removal of Zia’s padak) put the final nail in the coffin of democracy.
Pointing to a cartoon published in a local daily that kids were being pat down for security reasons, he said the country’s situation has come this.
He said extremism had emerged in the country due to the government’s ‘devious tricks’ and ‘failures’.
Mirza Abbas, also standing committee member, said the decision of the removal of the padak conferred on Zia did not cause any loss to BNP and whatever losses it caused went to the Awami League.
He said people now identified that Awami League as a ‘nefarious’ and ‘harmful’ party.
Another standing committee member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy said those who did the misdeed (decision of removal the padak conferred on Zia) are ‘expatriate’ freedom fighters and not freedom fighters on the war field.
He said the decision is an attack on the ‘existence’ of the nation and ‘independence’ and has to be responded to in kind by taking to the streets.
Source: New Age