Bomb terror is being used to try to bring Hasina back; the people will give the fascist autocrat no chance: law minister

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md. Asaduzzaman has said attempts are being made to bring back former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been sentenced to death, through bomb attacks, terrorism and intimidation.

He said those who think they can bring Sheikh Hasina back to Bangladesh with flower petals through bomb terror have still not understood the people of Bangladesh. The people of this country will in no way give the fallen fascist autocrat a chance to do politics or terrorism.

The law minister made the remarks as chief guest at a special general meeting organised by the Jhenaidah Journalists Forum Dhaka at the Abdus Salam Hall of the National Press Club on Friday (13 November).

Md. Asaduzzaman said many of those carrying out bomb attacks have already been arrested. The government has received information and data on who is involved in these terrorist activities and how. People are watching who has chosen the path of terrorism, he said.

On journalism, he said the media has reached a place of public trust. When people face harassment and get no remedy, they come to journalists. Alongside holding that trust, journalists must speak out against malpractice in journalism and 'yellow journalism'.

Calling on journalists to write for truth and justice and against wrongdoing, drugs and corruption, the law minister said the media must highlight the government's negative sides alongside its good work. Criticism of the government, or of himself, is no problem, he said.

Md. Asaduzzaman said that in the past nine months or so, the government has not taken the path of extrajudicial killings or enforced disappearances. Efforts have also been made to move away from the culture of police filing false cases as complainants.

He said what the government is doing to ensure people's rights must be highlighted, and if the government makes mistakes, those too must be published in the media.

The law minister said not everything can be changed overnight, but the government wants to move forward on the right path based on correct information. With that aim, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is working with a resolve to build Bangladesh, and the government is in the field against all evil forces on that path, he said.

Speaking as special guest, the prime minister's special assistant (political) Md. Rashed Khan raised questions about the history of the 2024 mass uprising.

He claimed that while Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud were being tortured at the then DB office, Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam were drinking juice there. He also claimed to have evidence and records on the matter.

Rashed Khan said he has written a history of the mass uprising and collected various information and data on it. Calling for Asif Mahmud and Nahid Islam to be questioned, he said it must also be known whether Hasnat and Sarjis were sitting by a pond drinking juice.

He further said that while allegations are raised about distorting the history of 1971, why is the correct history of the 2024 mass uprising not being presented to the nation? If that history is written correctly, he claimed, questions will arise about the roles of Hasnat and Sarjis.

The meeting was chaired by Jhenaidah Journalists Forum Dhaka president Mehedi Hasan Palash and conducted by general secretary Shahnaz Begum Poli.