Awami League and BNP differ in name, not in character: Golam Parwar at Press Club seminar
The Awami League and the BNP may differ in name but not in character, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General and former MP Mia Golam Parwar has said.
He made the remark on Monday (October 26) as chief guest at a seminar titled 'Blood-soaked October 28, the rise of fascism: challenges and tasks in building the desired Bangladesh', organised by Jamaat-e-Islami Dhaka Metropolitan South at the Abdus Salam Hall of the National Press Club in the capital.
Golam Parwar said activities such as extortion, murder, occupation and control of market and institutional committees continue exactly as before; only the party's name has changed.
He said the cases from the killings of October 28, 2006 must be revived and the culprits arrested to ensure justice, adding that the families of the martyrs are still waiting for justice.
Criticising the BNP, the Jamaat leader said campaigning for a 'Yes' vote in a referendum before the election and then shifting from that position after taking power is a betrayal of public expectations.
He alleged that ignoring the reform process and moving to amend the constitution is a manifestation of a fascist tendency.
Speaking as special guest, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad said the political course of events from October 28, 2006 onwards is part of the same continuity, claiming that, like the Awami League government, the current BNP is also weakening constitutional institutions and reform initiatives.
Dr Abdul Mannan, a central Majlis-e-Shura member of Jamaat and assistant secretary of Dhaka Metropolitan South, presented the keynote paper at the seminar. Jamaat central executive council member Dr Shafiqul Islam Masud, Chhatra Shibir central president Nurul Islam Saddam and DUCSU VP Abu Sadik Kayem, among others, also spoke.
