Referred to Jamaat-Shibir as 'dark forces' because they are conspiring against July Uprising, Liberation War: Fazlur in show-cause reply
After his response, the BNP has suspended all party posts held by Fazlur for three months as his reply to the show-cause notice was deemed unsatisfactory.
Highlights
- Fazlur calls Jamaat-Shibir "dark forces" for conspiring against the July Uprising and Liberation War
- He denies insulting the uprising
- The BNP suspends him for three months, calling his response unsatisfactory
Replying to the BNP's show-cause notice, Fazlur Rahman, a member of the party chairperson's Advisory Council, has clarified that he termed Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir as "dark forces", and accused them of conspiring against the July Uprising and the Liberation War.
In his reply, submitted to the BNP office today (26 August), Fazlur strongly denied allegations of making offensive or misleading comments regarding last year's July Uprising.
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Explaining his position, he said the July movement had two forms. "One was a 'people's movement' led by BNP and nationalist forces, aimed at toppling the 'fascist Hasina government' and restoring democracy with the slogan 'One point, one demand – Hasina must go'."
"I was referring to Jamaat-Shibir as 'dark forces', who conspired to hijack the fruits of the people's movement and create new plots against independence and the spirit of the Liberation War. For them, the national election is secondary," he added.
Earlier, on 24 August, BNP served him a show-cause notice over his "controversial and misleading" remarks on the July uprising, asking him to respond within 24 hours.
The deadline was later extended by one day.
After his response, the BNP has suspended all party posts held by Fazlur for three months as his reply to the show-cause notice was deemed unsatisfactory.
In his response, Fazlur further stated that Jamaat-Shibir and the National Citizen Party (NCP) have recently begun propagating the idea that 1947 marked the "first independence," 2024 the "second independence," while 1971 was merely a "conflict between brothers."
Citing reports from national dailies, he condemned such narratives as "abhorrent and false," saying, "As a freedom fighter, I felt it would have been better to die than to hear such distortions. Standing at the edge of life and death, I began speaking the truth about the Liberation War and identified Jamaat-Shibir as the 'dark forces,' while calling NCP their collaborator.
"They have now taken control of the country's administration, economy, and universities."
About the claim of offensive comments regarding the July Uprising, he said, "I strongly deny this. I have never used indecent language. On 16 July 2024, after police directly shot and killed Abu Sayed, I was the first to say he was the first 'Birshreshtha' of the 21st century.
"Through my words, I have always shown the highest respect to the martyrs of July-August."
He further wrote, "I have been accused of speaking in a way that hurt the religious sentiments of the people. I firmly state this is not true. I am a believer in Islam and in Allah and His Messenger. But politically, I have spoken against the traders of religion [such as Jamaat-e-Islami] in the past and will continue to do so in the future."
Fazlur outlined his arguments in 11 points in the written reply.
