BNP mobilises on streets, online to counter 'coordinated smear campaign'

The BNP has launched efforts to counter what it claims is a "coordinated smear campaign" aimed at discrediting the party's top and mid-level leadership by spreading misinformation and partial or distorted statements online, party leaders say.

They claim that the campaign involves the dissemination of misleading content on social media aimed at damaging the party's public image.

Leaders and activists of the party allege that several political parties, including "Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP)", are actively participating in the anti-BNP propaganda effort.

Several senior leaders of the party told TBS that in response, the BNP has mobilised activists from three of its youth and affiliated organisations, along with various party units, to take a stronger presence both on the streets and across social media platforms.

BNP Standing Committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku told TBS that the party is reaching out to the public to counter what it sees as a deliberate smear campaign.

"We are reinforcing our presence among the people to stop this propaganda. We are standing stronger where we already have public support," he said.

Tuku stated that Bangladesh is beginning to move toward democracy, and there is a "positive wind" surrounding the upcoming election.

"At a time when people are thinking about elections, those who are trying to politicise incidents like the murder of a trader in Mitford area – and using that to defame Tarique Rahman and Ziaur Rahman – are not in favour of democracy. They are trying to derail the democratic process," he said.

"To counter this, BNP is mobilising its organisational strength. Protests are taking place in districts across the country every day. This will continue," he added.

He also claimed that social media is being used to spread disinformation, and said BNP activists are responding to it in their own ways.

On 14 July, the BNP's student wing, Chhatra Dal, held protest rallies across the country.

In Dhaka, the central rally began from the party's Nayapaltan headquarters and ended in Shahbagh. Thousands of activists from the central Chhatra Dal, as well as units from Dhaka University, Dhaka Metropolitan area, and various colleges, and universities joined the march.

Throughout the rally, participants chanted slogans against Jamaat and NCP, accusing them of conspiring against the BNP.

Some of the slogans chanted during the rally included: "Jamaat-Shibir and Razakars leave Bangladesh now," "No place for Razakars in Ziaur Rahman's Bangladesh," "Razakars and dictators – two sides of the same coin," "Razakars go to Pindi, dictators to Delhi," and "Two caps, one bottle – Jamaat and NCP are the same."

Chhatra Dal leaders said the protests would continue both on the streets and across social media platforms.

On the same day, BNP's Dhaka North and South city units held a protest rally in front of the party's central office in Nayapaltan. The rally was followed by a procession.

The protest was organised to condemn the "smear campaign" against the party's acting chairman Tarique Rahman, as well as to demand justice for the murder in Mitford and other recent killings across the country.

Leaders and activists from various units of Dhaka Metropolitan BNP participated in the rally, alongside members of the party's affiliated and associate bodies.

Also yesterday, the Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal held protest marches in Dhaka and other parts of the country. The organisation said the demonstrations were held in response to deteriorating law and order and what it called a conspiracy to destabilise the country, enabled by "administrative inaction".

The Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal has announced it will hold countrywide protest marches tomorrow.

Mohammad Chand Mia, also known as Sohag, a trader, was brutally killed in front of the main gate of Mitford Hospital in the capital. The incident occurred on 9 July but came to public attention two days later, on 11 July, after a video of the murder went viral online.

That night, students staged marches across several university campuses, with similar protests continuing nationwide the following day. During these rallies, slogans were chanted against the BNP and its top leadership. Protesters alleged the "involvement of BNP-affiliated activists" in the murder.

In a press conference on 14 July, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said there is ample reason to believe that the Mitford murder is being politically exploited to create instability and advance a "hidden agenda".

"A specific political party and its top leader are being blamed for the incident, with offensive slogans used during protests," he said. "This raises serious concerns about whether we are being dragged back to an era of fascist political culture."

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi echoed the concerns, alleging that deep conspiracies are underway both inside and outside the state apparatus, with Tarique Rahman being specifically targeted.

Referring to the campaign of disinformation, he said these attacks are part of a broader effort to weaken nationalist political forces in the country.

Besides, BNP Standing Committee member AZM Zahid Hossain thinks that attempts are being made to delay the upcoming election by deliberately worsening law and order in the country.

"As the interim government and the Election Commission continue their activities, BNP remains hopeful that the election will be held within the timeframe promised by the chief adviser," he told reporters at the Institution of Engineers in Dhaka yesterday, ahead of a discussion by BNP-aligned professionals to mark the anniversary of the July–August mass uprising.

Referring to recent remarks about BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, Zahid said, "Derogatory comments against Tarique Rahman are part of a planned conspiracy. BNP has no intention of walking into that trap or responding to such provocations. Under Tarique Rahman's leadership, the people of Bangladesh are eager to restore democracy."

He further stated, "BNP does not tolerate or support injustice. We want justice for criminals through a due legal process. The party believes in upholding the law and does not support mob justice or vigilantism."