Farhad Mazhar said that if the interim government at the outset had held talks with people of all classes, professions and groups, then the Chattogram, Ansar and labour uprisings wouldn’t have happened.
Had BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia not taken the uncompromising stand of boycotting the elections that would lend legitimacy to the fascist state and power, the student-people’s uprising would not have been possible, said Farhad Mazhar. He addressed the youth, saying, “You all should have gone and greeted her at first.”
Farhad Mazhar said, the difference between the state and the government must be understood. If not, the police will think they are employees of the government, not of the state. And so they will follow Awami League (if Awami League is in power). The bureaucrats will feel their work is not to serve the state, but to serve Awami League. If BNP goes to power, they will serve BNP.
Spokesperson of ‘No VAT in Education’, Faruk Ahmed, presided over the meeting. Also speaking on the occasion were BNP vice chairperson Asaduzzaman Ripon, Dhaka University’s Professor Robaet Ferdous, Jatiya Nagorik Committee’s member secretary Akhter Hossain, and others.