BNP leader Abdul Moyeen Khan has said people of Bangladesh now want ‘freedom of speech’ and not ‘a fistful of food’.
He alleged the ruling Awami League put the democracy on the back burner by harping on development.
If the people were to choose between ‘a fistful of food’ and ‘freedom of speech’, they would go for the second, the BNP Standing Committee member said at a programme on Friday.
“Those who ignore this truth can never be pro-liberation forces,” the former minister said.
The BNP boycotted the national elections held on Jan 5 last year and has since been accusing the government of not allowing it to speak freely and do politics.
There was no democracy in Bangladesh today, so the development slogans were meaningless, he alleged.
“The government is saying it would pursue development and democracy can wait. This is not right… this cannot go on. This is not an ideal scenario.”
Swadhinata Forum organised the programme at the National Press Club to commemorate the 34th death anniversary of BNP founder and former military ruler Gen Ziaur Rahman.
Dwelling on the former president Rahman’s role, Khan said, “A particular group today thinks that none will remember Ziaur Rahman 30 years after his demise. But 70 to 80 percent people still remember and respect him.”
Khan also alleged that the fundamental principles of the nation including democracy and economic emancipation were now ‘buried in the ground’.
“The new generations are not allowed to know many things. Textbooks and histories are getting written again. Bangladesh is a peculiar country where the government writes history.”
Awami League leaders have also been accusing BNP of distorting history.
Moyeen Khan underlined the importance of informing the new generations about the ‘real’ history and said the ‘harsh truths’ were not mentioned in the textbooks.
“Those who are now claiming to be pro-liberation forces had then (during the Liberation War) run away,” he said.
Source: Bd news24
