“Our honorable Prime Minister has been sending envoys to Hefazat-e-Islam for saving Islam and herself,” he said at a roundtable at the Jatiya Press Club.
The roundtable was organised by `Santrash Nirmul Toki Mancha’, named after Tanvir Mohammad Toki, who was killed last month.
Toki, 17, son of Rafiur Rabbi, convener of Narayanganj Ganajagaran Mancha, was recovered by police from the bank of the Shitalakkhya River two days after he had gone missing on March 8.
Narayanganj City Corporation Mayor Dr Selina Hayat Ivy, Toki’s father Rafiur Rabbi, Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, Communist Party of Bangladesh president Mujahidul Islam Selim, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal general secretary Khalequzzaman, Nagorik Oikya convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Jahangirnagar University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Anwar Hossain, noted economists MM Akash and Prof Anu Mohammad also spoke at the roundtable.
Taking part in the discussion, Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon accused the Hefazat-e-Islam of taking the responsibility of saving the war criminals and Jamaat-e-Islami.
He said: “If we don’t take a proper stand on April 6 (day of Hefazat-e-Islam’s `Long March’ to Dhaka’), the next day we may land in the dark.”
Menon, an ally of the Awami League-led Grand Alliance, also slammed the government for arresting the bloggers for what he said satisfying Hefazat-e-Islam. “There is no scope for compromise with them,” he said.
Narayanganj City Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy alleged that the defeated forces who didn’t accept the people’s verdict on October 30 last year in the mayoral election, have killed people one after another in Narayanganj.
“If any more attack or killing takes place by the defeated force there (in Narayanganj), of course, we will face it along with people,” she said.
Toki’s father Rafiur Rabbi said the Prime Minister will have to decide whether she will protect the people’s interest or take the side of the terrorists.
The speakers at the roundtable said they want immediate trial of those who were involved in the murder of Toki and would not accept any steps in the matter out of political consideration.
The leftists of Bangladesh have been trying to introduce Soviet or China type socialism since before liberation. I had a very close friend and classmate named A. Razzaque (maybe Mr. Menon might have known him) who often landed in a debate with me to join him and persuade the people of our south-western region to accept the idea of communism. But I always told him that to try to introduce socialism or communism in an overwhelmingly Muslim majority country would be to put a square peg in a round hole. And everybody can see what have the leftists been able to achieve since. The above named leftist leaders would have got their deposits forfeited had they not got on board the ‘BOAT’. One leftist took refuse under the ‘pallu’ of our PM because his so-called ‘scientific socialism’ could not be swallowed and he has never been heard getting even10% of the total vote in his own area. Before taking shelter under AL umbrella he often cried that AL’s Rakkhi Bahini had killed 30,000 of his comrades; and now? These rootless and floating politicians demand people’s support against those who are ‘at fault’ only because they are Muslims. What a caricature they are putting up!