Dhaka, Feb 3 (IANS) As political tensions intensify ahead of Bangladesh’s February 12 elections, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Tuesday accused the radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami of distorting history, warning that the latter could one day claim that Ghulam Azam, the former Jamaat leader, proclaimed the country’s independence, local media reported.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the remarks during a programme in Dhaka, questioning Jamaat’s motive for raising the issue of the declaration of the country’s independence.
“When the Pakistani forces carried out atrocities against our mothers and sisters, you (Jamaat) did not call those acts oppression. You did not even acknowledge those brutalities as crimes. Instead, you supported them and provided patronage,” Bangladeshi media outlet UNB quoted the BNP leader as saying.
Commenting on Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman’s remarks about the 1971 declaration of independence in Chattogram, Rizvi said, “In a few days, you may even say that Ghulam Azam himself was the proclaimer of independence. You can say that too, because you never step back from telling lies.”
The BNP leader alleged that the Jamaat chief brought up the debate on the declaration of independence to shift focus away from his controversial and derogatory remarks about women, which have sparked outrage nationwide.
On Monday, the BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman strongly criticised Jamaat for making derogatory remarks about women, warning that such views pose a serious threat to women’s safety and fundamental rights in the country, according to local media reports.
The remarks came after Shafiqur Rahman, in a recent post on his social media platform X, claimed that women pushed out of their homes in the name of modernity are exposed to exploitation, moral decay and insecurity, describing it as “another form of prostitution", sparking widespread condemnation.
“Those who disrespect the women of the country and abuse them in ugly language, and whatever, cannot be patriotic or people-oriented. A political party wants to imprison mothers and sisters in their homes before the elections. They make scandalous comments about their employment. The people of the country are not safe from those who cannot respect their own women,” Bangladesh’s Bengali daily ‘Bonik Barta’ quoted Tarique as saying, while addressing a rally in Khulna district.
Bangladesh has been witnessing escalating political disputes ahead of the February 12 election.
The parties that earlier collaborated with the interim government’s Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, to overthrow the democratically elected government of the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, are now embroiled in an intense power struggle to win the upcoming election.
--IANS
scor/as
