BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Friday raised the question of why Awami League should be allowed to continue politics, provided its leadership is composed of individuals with untainted reputations.
Speaking at an Eid gift distribution event in Faidabad, Uttara Khan on Friday (21 March), Rizvi criticised the lack of discourse on prosecuting those responsible for past atrocities, saying: “There is much discussion about whether Awami League will be able to do politics, but no one is talking about holding the perpetrators of genocide accountable.”
Rizvi asserted that if criminal elements within Awami League were prosecuted and the public later decided to grant the party political legitimacy, no one should oppose it.
“If Awami League’s leadership is free of individuals involved in killings, corruption, and student oppression, then why shouldn't such an Awami League engage in politics?” he asked.
However, he insisted that justice must be served against those responsible for killings and mass oppression. Rizvi pointedly asked: “Didn’t people witness who committed the genocide? Which police officers, which Awami League leaders ordered the bloodshed? The trial must not be delayed.”
The BNP leader further lamented that those who looted public money and facilitated mass killings have yet to face justice.
“Why have we not tried those who killed more than 200 children, students, workers, and rickshaw pullers? Their punishment must be exemplary,” he declared.
Rizvi also launched a scathing attack on Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, questioning her belief in Allah and accusing her of prioritising wealth over morality.
“A person whose god is money cannot engage in good work; they can only loot and siphon off wealth,” he alleged.
He accused Hasina, her relatives, and her inner circle of orchestrating widespread financial misappropriation, adding: “These murderers not only killed democracy but also sold Bangladesh’s independence and destroyed institutions to cling to power.”
Rizvi stressed that in a true democracy, everyone should have the right to participate in politics, but only under democratic principles.
“Those who engaged in fascism, collaborated with it, and benefited from it must be brought to justice to ensure that fascism never rises again,” he concluded.
