Rizvi questions why they should take responsibility for Jatiya Party

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi stated that it is not BNP’s responsibility to protect the Jatiya Party. 

He remarked that the Jatiya Party provided full support to Sheikh Hasina’s establishment of fascism, and it is not BNP’s role to offer “protection” to those who backed fascism. 

Ruhul Kabir made these comments at a discussion meeting held at the Jatiya Press Club on Tuesday to mark the release day of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman. 

The meeting was organised by the ‘Uttarchanchal Chhatra Forum.’ 

Earlier, Jatiya Party Secretary General Shamim Patwary had claimed that it is BNP’s responsibility to protect the Jatiya Party. 

Criticising Shamim Patwary’s statement, Rizvi said, “BNP is not in power in the state. There hasn’t been a fair election yet. What responsibility are you (Shamim) talking about? Why will BNP take responsibility for the Jatiya Party? Who are you? Where were you when Ilyas Ali, Chowdhury Alam, Saiful Islam Hiru, and numerous BNP leaders and activists went missing? Where was the Jatiya Party then?” 

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi added, “Who will do politics and who will not is a matter of law and the government. BNP does not create mob violence anywhere. BNP does not believe in chaos.” 

The senior BNP leader further said, “In the 2014 election, there were no voters at the polling stations. You (Jatiya Party) went to that election, saying, ‘I will not go, I will not go.’ After BNP announced its participation in the 2018 election, about 45 candidates were arrested and taken away. Sheikh Hasina did not want BNP to participate in the election. What role did the Jatiya Party play that day?” 

Ruhul Kabir also noted, “On the anniversary of BNP’s founding on September 1, many newspapers wrote about the late Ziaur Rahman. We have seen this. The person who declared independence, who was martyred in a national and international conspiracy to establish multi-party democracy, is referred to only as the deceased. They do not use the word ‘martyr’ before his name or call him the proclaimer of independence.” 

The discussion meeting was chaired by Uttaranchal Chhatra Forum Chief Adviser Atiqur Rahman Rumon. 

BNP Media Cell Convener Professor Moudud Hossain Alamgir Pavel, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Secretary General Quader Gani Chowdhury, and others were present.