BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday accused the current Awami League government of destroying the spirit of the Language Movement by imposing a “fascist” rule on the country’s people.
“This is our bad luck now there’s a government in power which has distorted the spirit of Amar Ekushey. It has snatched the right to vote and freedom of speech,” Fakhrul told reporters after paying homage to language martyrs by placing wreaths at the altar of Central Shaheed Minar. He also said the current government is crippling the country’s economy.
“A horrible fascism is going on in the country…we’ll create a mass uprising here with the spirit of Language Movement to remove it and free our leader Begum Khaleda Zia. Through it, we’ll truly implement the spirit of Ekushey,” the BNP leader said.
He said many people, including Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar, sacrificed their lives on the streets on 21st February in 1952 to establish Bangla as the state language. “As a result, the then Pakistani ruler was forced to recognise Bengali as the state language.”
The BNP leader said the main spirit of the Language Movement was to liberate the country for establishing a democratic and free society having the freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and every right of people.
“We waged the Liberation War with that spirit. But the current regime has destroyed that spirit and dashed all the hopes and aspirations of people,” he bemoaned.
Fakhrul said the government has continued its repressive acts by implicating their top leaders and lakhs of leaders and activists in false cases. “We must get rid of it.”
Earlier in the day, leaders and activists of the party gathered in front of Balaka Cinema Hall at Nilkhet at 6 am wearing black badges. Later, they first offered fateha at the graves of Language Movement martyrs at Azimpur Graveyard and then went to the Central Shaheed Minar to pay tributes to the martyrs.
On Sunday, the party arranged a discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, marking the Shaheed Day and International Mother Language Day.
BNP also kept their party and national flags at half-mast and hoisted black flags at its Nayapaltan central office at 6 am in observance of the day.
Besides, BNP’s different units across the country are also observing the day with due respect amid various programmes.
Ekushey February is observed simultaneously as Shaheed Dibas and International Mother Language Day in recognition of the Bengali nation’s supreme sacrifice to the cause of their mother tongue. In 1999, UNESCO declared the 21st of February as the International Mother Language Day.
