Remarks by Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Dr Shafiqur Rahman on the 1971 declaration of independence have sparked debate on social media, drawing both support and criticism.
On Monday night (February 2), during an election rally at Bandar School Ground in Chattogram, he claimed that the declaration of independence in 1971 was made from Chattogram. Addressing the residents of the city, the Jamaat chief said, “Chattogram is not only a port city, not only a commercial capital, it is a city with a long history of struggle and resistance.”
He added, “The declaration of independence in 1971 took place here. One of your proud sons shouted ‘We revolt’ first—he is Dr Colonel Oli Ahmed Bir Bikram, the respected president of the LDP. He held Ziaur Rahman’s hand and led him forward. Chattogram residents salute you. You were the ones who initiated this proud history.”
Shafiqur Rahman further commented on Oli Ahmed’s current political stance: “Why does he now lament—‘I fought on the battlefield, I was the second person after Ziaur Rahman in forming the Nationalist Party. But now I am not in the BNP, I could not stay.’ The reason, he says, is that this is no longer Ziaur Rahman’s BNP. It is also not Begum Zia’s BNP.”
At the event, presided over by Chattogram city Jamaat Amir Mohammad Nazrul Islam, Shafiqur Rahman handed the party’s election symbols to Jamaat candidates in Chattogram-10, Chattogram-9, Chattogram-11, and Khagrachhari constituencies, and presented the Shapla flower bud to the candidate of the allied NCP in Chattogram-8.
Earlier in the day, during an 11-party coalition election rally in Padua, Lohagara, Chattogram, LDP Chairman Oli Ahmed said that the BNP is no longer the party of the martyred president Ziaur Rahman or former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. He added that the party has now become a party of mercenaries, corrupt individuals, and extortionists.
Oli Ahmed further stated, “Even if a bridge remains incomplete, extortion still takes place from there. After Khaleda Zia fell ill, the party once again became entangled in extortion. I do not want to do politics alongside extortionists.”