Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam has warned that Bangladesh will be “severely harmed” if the upcoming national election is delayed, cautioning that such a move could pave the way for the return of “fascism.”
“The election will happen, and it will happen within the declared time,” Islam said on Friday at the National Press Club while launching Roktakto July (Bloody July), a book by Syeda Fatema Salam. He admitted that confusion persists among citizens. “People are asking, ‘Will the election really take place?’ There is a kind of fear,” he said.
“If the election does not take place, the possibility of fascism returning will increase significantly,” he warned, alleging a conspiracy “to remove moderate, liberal politics and liberal democracy, and bring in extremist politics,” which he called “extremely dangerous for Bangladesh.”
Islam urged BNP activists not to get complacent. “You should not think you have already come to power. You have not even come close yet. There are many conspiracies and plots,” he said.
He also admitted to personal frustration: “At this age, when I see my dreams, my struggles, and my efforts fading, it is natural to feel frustrated.”
He lamented that the “July struggle” has not received as much literary recognition as the 1952 Language Movement.
Bangladesh 1972 Constitution a product of Liberation War, not Awami League’s: BNP
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Standing Committee member Hafizuddin Ahmed on Thursday said Bangladesh’s 1972 Constitution was born out of the Liberation War and “should not be regarded as the Awami League’s creation.”
Speaking at Dhaka’s National Press Club on the 33rd founding anniversary of the Nationalist Freedom Fighters’ Party, he said, “After the Liberation War, we had no personal ambition for power, which allowed the Awami League to assume office with India’s support.”
Rejecting calls to discard the 1972 Constitution as “pointless,” he demanded free and fair polls under an interim government. “Those who never witnessed the Liberation War claim the Constitution must be thrown out and the July Charter placed above it. In 1971, we fought for democracy, yet it has still not been fully realized,” he said.
Recalling that Tajuddin Ahmed had urged Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to declare independence before the March 25, 1971 crackdown, he added, “Mujib refused, still believing in an undivided Pakistan.”
“No unelected individuals can amend the Constitution,” he said, calling the July Accord “entirely baseless.” He concluded that the Liberation War was fought to establish democracy—“an ideal yet to be achieved.”