BNP Central Executive Committee Joint Secretary General Advocate Abdus Salam Azad said Sheikh Mujibur Rahman turned the country into a field of destruction, and Ziaur Rahman declared independence, realising the people’s demand.
He made the comments on Tuesday evening while addressing an open-water fish release and discussion meeting organised by the Gazipur District Jatiyatabadi Matsyajibi Dal on the occasion of the National Fisheries Week, at Bhawal Mirzapur (adjacent to the Turag River) Bazar in Gazipur Sadar Upazila.
Abdus Salam Azad said: “He closed down all political parties and formed only one party, Baksal. Democracy and Sheikh Mujib could not exist together in the same place. Speaking against Baksal cost the lives of nearly 40,000 mothers’ sons in Bangladesh. He shut down 450 newspapers, allowing only four to continue in order to serve the interests of Baksal. Many journalists were killed, many arrested, many died of starvation, and some committed suicide due to poverty. That was the reality under Sheikh Mujib’s rule.”
Abdus Salam Azad further said that Ziaur Rahman, who declared independence, understood that the people of Bangladesh wanted such a declaration, and he responded accordingly.
He said: “On November 7, 1975, Ziaur Rahman returned to the nation and from then on, he was able to establish multi-party democracy and the rule of law. Through the rule of law, the country built a strong and stable state system. Due to the impact of the Farakka Barrage, Ziaur Rahman introduced the 19-point program, which included canal excavation, development of fisheries, farmers, agriculture, workers and the foundation of a prosperous Bangladesh.”
The chief guest said that before the 1979 election, Ziaur Rahman presented a manifesto and formed a party.
If Sheikh Mujib had been a good ruler and if democracy had existed within his party, there would have been no need for another party, he said.
“Before 1975, Sheikh Mujib was a failure, and Ziaur Rahman was successful. It was through his success that Bangladesh gained independence, democracy and multi-party politics. The Jatiyatabadi Matsyajibi Dal itself is one of the organizational arms of Ziaur Rahman’s political vision,” he further said.
“He always thought of the future. He knew that one day Bangladesh would face a scarcity of fish and water. With India closing the Farakka Barrage, rivers, canals, haors, and wetlands of Bangladesh would dry up, turning the country into a desert. For this reason, he established the Matsyajibi Dal to ensure attention to the fisheries sector.” The BNP leader said.
He added that Ziaur Rahman directed all banks to encourage and provide agricultural loans to farmers wishing to establish cattle or fish farms.
“We had to create separate farms for cattle, ducks, chickens and cows. After India stopped exporting cows to Bangladesh, if we had not developed cattle farms, the price of a single cow would have been ten lakh taka today,” he said, adding: “Our neighbouring country does not want Bangladesh to emerge as a happy and prosperous state on the world map.”
Criticizing the BDR carnage incident, Abdus Salam Azad said: “You know who killed BDR members during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure? From outside, Major Zakir learned through a friend that inside the compound, during the massacre, people in uniform were speaking in Hindi. He came to know this from outside, but Sheikh Hasina, the then army chief, and the home minister all claimed not to know. Why not? Then certainly there was something suspicious. Was Sheikh Hasina truly the prime minister of Bangladesh at that time? Did we really have a prime minister?”
He alleged that Sheikh Hasina organized the one-party election system in 2014 to follow in her father’s footsteps.
Turning his attention to Jamaat-e-Islami, he said: “You know how Jamaat men were beaten with sticks and oars. Jamaat has no shame. This party is no different from Sheikh Mujib. What role did they play in the Liberation War? Jamaat opposed independence. It was never formed for the country; it was formed for itself. Where did Jamaat’s roots lie? Where was Maududi born? Through India, in Pakistan.”
Criticizing the Awami League, he said: “Awami League represents India’s voice. The term Awami League itself is not a Bangla word, it is a mixture of different languages. It was not founded for the people of Bangladesh; it is a terrorist party. Sheikh Mujib himself beat Speaker Shahadat to death. He was the founder of crossfire, the killer of democracy. Sheikh Hasina too is a killer of democracy.”
After the discussion, the chief guest released several thousand fish fry of different species into the Turag River.