Without offering any apology for the “obscene language” used by his top aide Tarek Rahman to describe Hindu religious scripture, Bangladesh Gono Odhikar Parishad leader Nurul Haque Nur has rather defended the former’s remarks — taking a dig at reports in Indian media on the incident.
“It was an earlier statement by him (Tarek)… why do they need to report it now? This is intentional… you should not report on old things,” Nur said in a video of a press conference.
“It's up to an individual if it hurts them. This is not a collective issue,” Nur went on to say, having Tarek sitting next to him.
Nur did not express any regret to the country’s Hindu community for the obscene and offensive remark made on record by his top aide.
A day before, Nur came down heavily on the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government for arresting Jamaat and BNP leaders.
Read: Video of Nur’s top aide Tarek threatening to “arm Rohingyas” draws criticism on social media
Calling the Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman — arrested over assisting a militant group — as a “humanitarian” individual, Nur demanded his immediate release.
Nur also lambasted an organisation called Muktijuddho Moncho — a platform for descendants of freedom fighters — that held protest against Nur for his threats to “overthrow the government”.
“Why is this organisation so selective in holding protests? Why did they hold protest against China?” — Nur asked.
Nur’s top aide Tarek recently also made news for threatening to “arm the Rohingyas” in a video that has drawn criticism on social media.
Read: Nur calls Jamaat’s ameer “humanitarian”
“We will train them and arm them” — Tarek is heard saying in the video.
Just two days after this statement, two Rohingya community leaders were killed in the camps that have been hosting around a million Rohingyas.