Nahid Islam in Noakhali: No chance of anyone returning in December, gallows ready if they do

National Citizen Party (NCP) convener and opposition chief whip Nahid Islam has said there is no chance for Apa to return to this country in any December, and if she does come, the gallows are ready for her, God willing. He made the remarks as chief guest at a programme at Noakhali Science and Technology University on Saturday (November 7) afternoon.

The programme was held at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mohammad Ruhul Amin Auditorium of Noakhali Science and Technology University. Nahid Islam was the chief guest at the freshers' reception and prize-giving ceremony of a competition titled 'Students' thoughts on the July mass uprising', organised by Jatiya Chhatra Shakti.

He said the students and people of Bangladesh have not fallen asleep yet, and neither have the universities. The students must prove that, he said.

Addressing the students, Nahid Islam said they should not agitate only for a Noakhali division. They must think about the whole country and the whole world. In his words, that is what a university is.

Urging university students to gain global knowledge and skills, he said a student must know what is being thought and what is happening around the world, and prepare himself for the global market.

He added that students must think about where they can establish themselves, because the job market is not only in the country but across the whole world.

Speaking about November 7, the NCP convener said, we uphold November 7. November 7 is a revolution, but is the July mass uprising not a revolution? In his view, the present government calls what suits it a revolution, and what does not suit it, or where it had no leadership, it describes merely as a movement or a mass uprising.

He asked the students present whether they agreed: we consider November 7 a revolution, and we also consider the July revolution a revolution, is that right?

Raising the prospect of someone returning to the country next December, Nahid Islam asked whether the students knew about it and whether they were ready. He asked whether they were as prepared as they had been during the July mass uprising, and whether the resistance this time would be greater or smaller than before.

Expressing anger at the lack of justice, he said they had shown great generosity and forgiveness last time. In the words of Osman Hadi, they had said they would do justice even to the enemy. But in the last two years, they have received no justice. They have not received justice for the murder of Osman Hadi, nor for the killing of the martyred brothers and sisters of July.

In his view, when people do not get justice, they begin to build resistance themselves.

Special guests at the programme included NCP senior joint member secretary Sarjis Alam, joint convener and member of parliament Abdul Hannan Masud, and joint convener Nizam Uddin. Jatiya Chhatra Shakti central president Abu Baker Majumder, general secretary Tahmid Al Muddassir Chowdhury and other central leaders were also present.