Zia Gave Jamaat a “Rebirth” and Khaleda Offered “Ministerial Posts,” Yet There’s No Gratitude: Rizvi

Kurigram Correspondent

Without Ziaur Rahman, Jamaat-e-Islami would not have been reborn and without Begum Khaleda Zia, you would not have enjoyed the taste of ministry. Yet, you have no sense of gratitude, said BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

He told reporters at the central Eidgah ground in Kurigram on Monday afternoon.

Rizvi said, “Jamaat-e-Islami could not have done politics on the soil of the country. If it were not for Begum Khaleda Zia, you would not have enjoyed the taste of ministry. Yet you do not have the slightest sense of gratitude.”

He said, “The Ameer of Jamaat is working day and night to come to power through whatever path he deems convenient. But his true character has been revealed through this stance.”

Citing a recent interview with the Jamaat Ameer, Rizvi said, “The Jamaat Ameer said – women can become MPs, but they cannot be the head of the state. Yet you became ministers under this Begum Khaleda Zia.”

She expressed her fear, saying, “If they are in power, there will be no women’s rights. Women will not get any good positions in offices, courts or political parties.”

Also present at the event were BNP candidate for Kurigram-2 constituency Sohel Hosnain Kaikobad, district BNP convener Mostafizur Rahman Mostafa, senior joint conveners Shafiqul Islam Bebu and Hasibur Rahman Hasib, and district BNP leaders.

Incidentally, in 1971, Jamaat-e-Islami and the student organization Islami Chhatra Sangh formed Razakar, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams forces across the country and carried out genocide as collaborators with the Pakistani army.

After the country’s independence, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman banned the politics of Jamaat-e-Islami.

But on August 15, 1975, he was killed by a group of army members, as an open force of domestic and foreign conspirators, in his own family.

Then, in 1977, military ruler Ziaur Rahman, who seized state power, lifted the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, creating an opportunity for open politics.

In the second parliamentary election of 1979, the IDL participated in the alliance and was elected to parliament in multiple seats.

Then, in the 5th National Parliament election of 1991, after failing to secure a single majority with 140 seats, Khaleda Zia formed the government after Jamaat-e-Islami supported BNP with 18 seats.

Then in 1999, BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jatiya Party and Islamic Unity Alliance formed a four-party alliance.

When this four-party alliance came to power in the 2001 elections, for the first time in independent Bangladesh, two war criminals from Jamaat-e-Islami were given ministerial posts, and the national flag was obtained in exchange for millions of martyrs.