Supporters of Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) participate in a protest in Dhaka. DHAKA: After its arch political rival Awami League, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party has taken on student leaders for attacking the 1972 constitution by using “fascist” language.Criticising leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM), which led the July-Aug uprising to oust the Sheikh Hasina govt, senior BNP members emphasised that the constitution, formulated as a result of the 1971 Liberation War, was drafted at the cost of the “blood of millions of martyrs”. “Statements like ‘bury it, kill it, cut it off’ echo the language of fascism,” BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas said, adding that such remarks could lead to misinterpretation and division.On Sunday, ADSM convener Hasnat Abdullah said the 1972 constitution would “effectively be buried on Dec 31” with the ‘Declaration of the July Revolution’ – set to be presented by student leaders at the Central Shaheed Minar. “We demand the ‘Mujibbadi Constitution’ be declared obsolete” he had said, adding that the declaration will render the “Nazi-like Awami League irrelevant in Bangladesh”.Mirza underscored the importance of the constitution, calling it a product of the Liberation War and not something that can simply be discarded. “If there is any flaw in the Constitution, it can be amended,” he said. Another BNP member, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, accused certain political groups, including those which opposed the Liberation War, of attempting to exploit the current political climate for their own benefit.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party: Student leaders’ ‘bury 1972 constitution’ jibe fascist
