Communalism, militancy will prevail if AL doesn’t remain in power: Hasan

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Thursday said if the Awami League (AL) does not remain in power, communal ill forces and militancy will raise heads in the country. 

“If the AL does not remain in power, militancy along with the communal ill forces will raise heads in the country,” he said replying to a question from Indian journalists regarding whether communal forces would raise heads if AL could not come to power through the next parliament election. 

Dr Hasan, also ruling party joint general secretary, said this while speaking at the open question and answering session of the ‘Face the Journalists’ programme at the Kolkata Press Club, reports BSS citing a press release.

“When Begum Khaleda Zia was in power, bombs were blasted at 63 districts of Bangladesh simultaneously. Shaykh Abdur Rahman, Bangla Bhai and the people trained in Afghanistan used to stage showdown in public,” he said, adding, that was the rule of the BNP government.

Noting that when AL took stern actions against the militants, BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia openly said - “Some people are detained, when their hair and beard become longer they are termed as militants”, the AL joint general secretary said, adding that if Awami League does not remain in power, communalism of that time will rise again in Bangladesh. 

“The minorities in Bangladesh will fall into uncertainty again,” he added.

When BNP came to power through 2001 election, Dr Hasan said, minorities from other religions were tortured while mother and daughter were raped in one night, a 14-year-old girl was raped for “the crime of voting for the AL election symbol Boat”.

“At that time, a community kitchen and a shelter centre were opened for the homeless people at the central office of our Awami League in Dhaka,” he added.