Jamaat plotting to turn Bangladesh into a one-party state: Rizvi

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is conspiring to establish a one-party state, said BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi today (16 August).

"One idealist has departed, and another has emerged. Stop labelling people as 'munafiq' [hypocrite] or 'murtad' [apostate] simply because they do not join your political party," he said, while speaking at a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club in the capital.

In jibe at Jamaat, the BNP leader also urged them to practise an advanced democratic system where no one is deprived for their political beliefs.

The programme was organised by former students of Dhaka College to mark the anniversary of the July Uprising.

Rizvi further claimed that the director general of the Islamic Foundation instructed employees that their jobs would not be secure unless they became members (rokon) of Jamaat.

"There are also allegations from various government offices that staff are being pressured to join Jamaat," he added.

Addressing the event as the chief guest, BNP Standing Committee Member Moyeen Khan said that the 2008 national election was not "free and fair."

He said it was a "staged election."

Before the polls, there was already a blueprint outlining who would win in all 300 constituencies. That is how the 1/11 political episode was orchestrated in Bangladesh," he said, adding that the "false history" created by the Awami League during that time must be exposed.

At the event, families of martyrs and survivors of the July Uprising were honoured and provided with financial assistance.