Staff Correspondent:

“Despite saying a lot of good things, I did not get any political philosophy of the National Citizen Party (NCP) about the state,” said BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

He made the observation while speaking at a discussion titled ‘Sacrifice and leadership of Begum Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman in the struggle to restore democracy’ and the book unveiling ceremony of “Praised Leader Khaleda Zia.”

Nationalist Research Foundation (NRF) organised the event on Saturday at the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) in the capital.

On Saturday few intellectuals are saying that BNP was born while in power. They forget that they are trying to create a new political narrative. They want to equate Ershad with Ziaur Rahman. But that is not correct. Zia was of a different caliber, something distinct. Zia introduced a new political philosophy. Many are forming parties on Saturday. I attended the event of those who formed a new party yesterday. They spoke well about the state, but I did not find any political philosophy,” said Rizvi.

Mentioning that Ziaur Rahman transitioned from a one-party rule to a multi-party democracy, he said, “Any democrat would have done it, and Ziaur Rahman did. Ziaur Rahman did not seize power by overthrowing a democratic ruler. It was Sheikh Mujib who killed democracy by establishing Baksal. Ziaur Rahman introduced multi-party democracy in the country.”

Prof Anwarullah Chowdhury, former Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University and former ambassador, presided over the function while BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, joint secretary general Habibun Nabi Khan Sohel and Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) General Secretary Kader Gani Chowdhury, among others, addressed it.