Plot afoot to brand Bangladesh as communal, stay alert: Fakhrul

Stating that there is a plot to brand Bangladesh as a communal country by labelling false allegations of repression against minorities, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday urged all to remain alert to thwart such a move.

“My only request is that what we have achieved should not go in vain, because there is a fascist (Hasina) sitting on the other side of the border,” he said at a student convention held at the Krishibid Institute of Bangladesh (KIB).

The event, titled “Student Convention 2024,” was organised by the Thakurgaon Chhatra Kalyan Parishad in Dhaka.

The BNP leader claimed that fascist forces, staying in India, are devising various conspiracies and instigating a series of untoward incidents.

“After orchestrating these incidents, they are spreading them worldwide to portray Bangladesh as a country of fundamentalists, where minorities are being persecuted,” he said.

Fakhrul said  that the Indian newspapers and social media present all such vile incidents of evidence of what is happening in Bangladesh.

“Actually, it is not. Who is doing these things? Why are they doing them? I am saying this because we have no time to be happy that we have won… everything is over,” he said.

The BNP leader said a sword is still above the heads of the democratic and pro-Bangladesh forces.

“They (fascist forces) are trying to take us back to darkness everywhere. So, we must be very vigilant and alert. Any hasty actions or chaos must be prevented to ensure that no one can instigate it,” he said.

The BNP leader also alleged that the Awami League had depleted the country’s resources through widespread planning and corruption.

“The economy has been ruined, banks have been plundered, and looting, bribery, and corruption were rampant everywhere. We must put a stop to these things and build resistance against them,” he said.

Fakhrul also expressed his pain over the fact that students from different colleges were fighting against each other, despite having once united to overthrow an oppressive regime. “This is not acceptable in any way,” he added.

“We must stand against this, as it is a conspiracy… Your (students’) responsibility is to make them understand that this is not the way. I am deeply concerned when I see a lawyer killed on the road in the name of ISKCON, in the name of religion,” he said.

Fakhrul thanked the students for their crucial role in helping oust the fascist Hasina government through a mass uprising. “Fighting against fascism without resources is nearly impossible, but your courage made it possible.”

Throughout Bangladesh’s history, he said whenever the people, along with students, united in resistance, victory was always achieved.