TDS Desk:

Stating that the constitution was written in 1972 at the cost of the blood of 30 lakh martyrs, BNP Senior leader Mirza Abbas on Sunday criticised those who called for burying that national charter.

“As your seniors, we feel disappointed when you (leaders of the student movement) say that the constitution should be buried. If there is anything bad in the constitution, it can be amended,” he said while exchanging views with journalists.

The Dhaka South city unit of BNP organised the event at a community centre in the capital’s Nayapaltan area.

Abbas, a BNP standing committee member, observed that the Constitution is not a rough draft that can simply be discarded.

“As our children, I would like to tell the leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement not to misunderstand us. When you say things like this, it sounds fascist. Because fascists used to say, ‘we will bury them, kill them, and cut them off,” he said.

Pointing at the students, the BNP said, “The nation and the politicians are looking at you. So, we don’t expect such words from you.”

“I am not a supporter of the 1972 Constitution, but I understand the connection between the Liberation War and it. The Constitution was formulated as a result of the Liberation War,” he explained.

Abbas said those who misused the Constitution should face consequences. “If you have a headache, cutting off your head is not the solution. So, take action against those who misused the Constitution. We are with you.”

“That Constitution was written at the cost of the blood of 30 lakh martyrs of 1971. So it hurts us when you speak against it,” he said.

He also urged student leaders to refrain from making comments that people dislike and create division.