EC favouring any party will be resisted firmly: Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman has said his party does not seek any favour from the Election Commission, but if the commission attempts to show favour to any political party, it will be resisted firmly.

Speaking today (16 December) while inaugurating a youth marathon marking Victory Day at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital, Shafiqur said all conspiracies will be swept away in the face of collective public resistance.

The Jamaat chief also urged the administration and the EC to carry out their duties properly.

He said Jamaat does not seek party victory in the upcoming general election but wants victory for the country's 18 crore people. 

Shafiqur added that the February election will usher in a new phase in national politics, warning that any conspiracy surrounding the polls will be crushed by public resistance.

Referring to history, the Jamaat ameer said the war of independence became inevitable after the 1970 election, when people from all walks of life united to fight for freedom.

He added that after independence, the ruling class failed to uphold its promises to the people.

Paying tribute to the martyrs of the Liberation War, he accused one party of treating the war as its personal property and turning the rest of the population into subordinates. 

Shafiqur went on to say multiparty democracy was destroyed, fundamental human rights were curtailed, and a repressive force was formed in the name of the Rakkhi Bahini.

Speaking about the Awami League, Shafiqur said that after independence, state institutions were structured to benefit one family, one group and one party. 

The party promised to build "Sonar Bangla" but instead created a "graveyard Bangladesh", he added.

He said during its terms in power, the Awami League left behind dead bodies, and that murder, rape and a reign of secret detention facilities prevailed under its rule, which ended on 5 August last year.

He said, "They came to power three times and presented Bangladesh with bloodshed and piles of corpses. Before coming to power in 1996, they folded their hands and sought forgiveness from the people, saying, 'For the injustices and oppression our party inflicted on the people of Bangladesh in the past, we seek unconditional pardon. Give us power just once. We have changed. Now we want to do something good for the country.'

"They had prayer beads in their hands and veils over their heads. People, in their simplicity, assumed that their mindset had changed. But no. Once they sat on the throne of power, they revealed their true selves," he added.

The Jamaat ameer said even after fleeing, "fascists" are not allowing the country to remain at peace, citing the recent shooting of Osman Hadi as an attempt to eliminate him.