Government Itself Is Paving Awami League’s Return, Parwar Alleges at Emergency Press Conference

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar has alleged that the government is deliberately paving the way for the Awami League’s return by ignoring the opposition’s movement and creating disorder and instability. He said that whenever anyone speaks about the government’s corruption and partisan appointments, the opposition is branded as anti-state.

He made the remarks at an emergency press conference on recent issues held on Tuesday noon at the Jamaat central office in Dhaka’s Moghbazar. At the briefing he raised a series of allegations about the government’s seven months in office.

Mia Golam Parwar said, “The lack of coordination and the attempt to shift blame in the government’s seven months are ridiculous. The BNP’s allegation that Jamaat-e-Islami does not uphold July is also ridiculous. It is Jamaat-e-Islami that upholds July. Because the government does not uphold July, it is not implementing the verdict of the referendum. They are placing party people in all constitutional institutions.”

He said that without implementing the July Charter, people from Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal are being placed in constitutional posts and in government, semi-government and autonomous institutions. He claimed that 11 parties including Jamaat uphold July and are therefore demonstrating on the streets to demand implementation of the referendum verdict. He also alleged that the BNP, because it does not uphold July, rejected and cancelled the referendum and is stalling on implementing its verdict.

Saying the government is acting outside the spirit of July, Golam Parwar said the government has recently reached into the Public Service Commission (PSC), where the chairman and other members are being told over a tea invitation to resign. Yet students of Dhaka University and other institutions had taken to the streets in the 2024 movement against exactly this kind of partisanship, he recalled.

Golam Parwar said the Jamaat Ameer stood beside the July wounded for their treatment. Jamaat has, on its own initiative, published books in three languages — Bangla, English and Arabic — to present and preserve the memory of the July martyrs worldwide. Despite having funds worth crores, the government has taken no such initiative; officials of the July Smriti Foundation are not receiving salaries and are lodging complaints with Jamaat, he added.

He commented that by clinging to its notes of dissent, the BNP has taken a position against state reform, which he called fascist. In his words, they are forming special committees of their own choosing and heading towards constitutional amendment instead of reform; keeping the constitution unreformed in this way means whoever becomes prime minister will become a fascist.

Questioning why the opposition’s cooperation should be needed for constitutional amendment, Golam Parwar said, “In the referendum, the people gave nearly 70 percent of the vote in favour of constitutional reform. The government wants to amend the constitution by bypassing the people instead of carrying out reform. At the same time, the government is misleading the public with false information on the question of constitutional reform.” He strongly condemned this.

Responding to the Prime Minister’s remarks about the opposition leader’s attendance at an event at Osmani Udyan, Golam Parwar said it was disrespectful that the invitation card did not mention the opposition leader’s name, while the names of state ministers were included. Under the Rules of Precedence he holds the rank of a full minister, and he did not attend because due honour was not shown on the card. He condemned the Prime Minister for presenting what he called false and ridiculous information.

Saying the government is walking the path of fascism, Golam Parwar said, “The people of Bangladesh learned fascism by seeing the Awami League. But Mr Rizvi has forgotten it in just seven months. To recognise fascists one must go back to the people. Extortion, looting and placing party people in government posts are the path of fascism. Ignoring the people’s verdict is the path of fascism. Refusing the referendum verdict is the path of fascism.” The BNP would recognise the path of fascism if it asked its own July wounded, he added.

He further said Jamaat-e-Islami has never formed an alliance with the Awami League, though it has campaigned alongside the Jatiya Party, left parties and many others to demand implementation of the caretaker government formula prepared by Jamaat. He claimed that because of the BNP’s anti-people stance the party could not come to power in 1996, and that the Awami League came to power that year because of the BNP, which had held a “Magura-style” election.

Raising allegations of obstruction of meetings and religious programmes, he said gatherings are not being allowed and MP Amir Hamza is not being allowed to hold waz mahfils; unable to stop an MP elected with hundreds of thousands of votes, permission for the mahfil was cancelled. On the shutdown of a Rajshahi conference, he urged the government to turn back from the path of fascism, like the Awami League’s.

Criticising the dissolution of madrasa managing committees through a single notification, he said the government dissolved the committees out of a fascist mindset to install party people; Sheikh Hasina walked this same path for 17 years and eventually left for Delhi. He also strongly condemned and protested the deprivation of opposition MPs from government allocations and the placing of unelected women MPs over elected MPs.

Present at the press conference were Jamaat assistant secretaries general Maulana Rafiqul Islam Khan MP and Maulana Abdul Halim; assistant secretary general and central publicity and media secretary Advocate Ehsanul Mahbub Zubayer; central executive council members Md Abdur Rab, Advocate Matiur Rahman Akand and Mobarak Hossain; central executive council member and Dhaka City South secretary Dr Shafiqul Islam Masud MP; central working council member and Dhaka City North assistant secretary Mahfuzur Rahman; and City North publicity and media secretary Ataur Rahman Sarkar. Golam Parwar ended by urging the government not to present any more false information about the opposition leader before the nation.