People don't believe BNP to be 'anti-Hindu': Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday said people do not believe the Awami League's propaganda aimed at painting BNP as an anti-Hindu party.

"Awami League is marketing it in our neighbouring country India, where the majority population is Hindu. They carry out false propaganda that BNP is an anti-Hindu organisation in Bangladesh," he said.

Speaking at the Representatives Conference of Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Front at BNP party chairperson's Gulshan office in Dhaka, Fakhrul also asked the audience whether they believe BNP is an anti-Hindu party and they replied in the negative.

"We can vigorously say that they [Hindus] remain safe when BNP is in power. We have a commitment to protect the rights of all communities," he said.

The BNP leader said democracy is mandatory for protecting the safety and rights of minority communities. "So, we have to win the struggle for democracy. There is no alternative to it."

He said the ruling Awami League used to say they are the most non-communal party in the country. "You know how secular they are. We have seen the years 1972 to 1975. People belonging to Awami League mostly occupied the houses, shops, and businesses of our religious minorities in this country."

The BNP leader also alleged that Awami League leaders and activists were involved in the attacks on temples and vandalism of idols in different parts of the country and the arson attacks on Buddhist monasteries and communities in Ramu, Cox's Bazar, during the current government's tenure.

Fakhrul said the ruling party men attacked the Hindus and other minority communities to grab their land and property by driving them away from the country. "They also did it to humiliate their political opponents by shifting the blame onto them. People now understand it and they don't believe nor accept it anymore."

He highlighted the security measures taken for the Hindu community in Bangladesh by the then BNP government, during the attack on Babri Masjid in India in 1992.

Fakhrul further said today no one, be they members of Hindu, Buddhist, or Christian community, feels safe when Awami League is in power. "Common people also do not feel safe as anyone can be implicated in a false case anytime."

He urged people from all walks of life to get united to restore democracy, voting and all other lost rights. "I request the youth that you have to spread among all the people including your community members to motivate them that we have to win this fight for democracy."

The BNP leader alleged that the government has long been working to eliminate its political opponents by snatching their minimum democratic rights.

He said many people belonging to minority communities have been made accused in cases filed under the draconian Digital Security Act.