‘BNP involved in attack on Panchagarh Ahmadiyyas’

Awami League (AL) General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Monday (March 13) said BNP leaders' speeches and statements proved their involvement in recent attack on Ahmadiyya community in Panchgarh.

"BNP leaders' speeches and statements proved their involvement in recent attack on Panchgarh Ahmadiyya community," he said in a media statement condemning the traditional lies and misleading speeches of BNP leaders including its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

The minister said BNP became desperate to grab state power and is inciting communalism in terrorist way failing in the democratic movement. 

He said, "Their (BNP) responsible leaders took online platforms to spread provocative statements and specially, the Panchagarh incident were pushed into violence by spreading rumors through their different facebook pages and IDs".

Quader said communalism and extremism are opposite to the existence of Bangladesh and the main enemies of democratic spirit and values. 

Military dictator Ziaur Rahman introduced religion-based politics and planted poisonous tress of ultra communalism to secure his unconstitutional and illegal power, he said. 

BNP is always playing card of communalism spreading rumours and creating religious frenzy in politics and election's field as it has been a symbol of communal violence and militancy in Bangladesh, he added.

BNP turned Bangladesh into a heaven of terrorism and militancy during its tenure, Quader said.

He said, "In 1971, we achieved independence through the great War of Liberation under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the greatest Bangalee of all-times". 

The principle of Bangladesh was determined in line with the ideals and spirit of the great freedom struggle, he continued.

Even the Constitution expressed firm pledge to build an independent, sovereign, non-communal progressive Bangladesh that was achieved in exchange for supreme sacrifice of three million martyrs, the minister said.

The AL general secretary said the election will be held according to the constitution in Bangladesh under the Election Commission (EC).

"The Election Commission is constitutionally completely independent. There is no system of government of caretaker or unelected individuals and groups in any civilized democratic state in the world," he said.

Quader said those, who are indulged in the plan of resisting the elections by sending the constitution in exile, are mainly busy with protecting the interests of the identified groups. 

"The people with having democratic spirit in the country will not let them implement their ill-politics," he said.

Awami League is committed to empowering people and upholding the democratic spirit, the minister said.

He said the voting rights of the people of this country have been established through long struggle and sacrifices under the leadership of AL. 

AL under the leadership of Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina has played the key role in protecting the voting right, he said.

He hoped the next national elections will be held in a fair, peaceful, transparent and impartial manner with the participation of all parties. 

The people will exercise their right to vote spontaneously and the state power will be changed based on people's opinion, he added.