Bangladesh Awami League General Secretary and Minister of Road Transport and Bridges, Obaidul Quader, has strongly condemned the statements made by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, calling them politically motivated, misleading, and provocative.
In a statement issued on Monday, Quader accused BNP leaders, including Fakhrul, of using the student movement for quota reform as a weapon against the current government. “Having been repeatedly rejected by the public, creating chaos and conspiracy is their only strategy to seize power,” Quader said.
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He said that whenever there is a movement, BNP leaders infiltrate it to turn it into an anti-government campaign. He noted that the government has met all the students’ demands, yet Fakhrul is now demanding the government’s resignation, a demand he labelled as “exclusive to the anti-government and anti-state” BNP-Jamaat alliance.
Quader emphasized that in a democratic system, government changes only occur through popular mandate. “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government is operating constitutionally with the people’s mandate. Despite provocations and chaos, the government has maintained utmost patience and restraint while protecting the public from BNP-Jamaat’s terrorism and violence,” he said.
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He also addressed allegations against law enforcement agencies, asserting that “no ordinary student” was arrested or tortured. “Only those directly involved in terrorism and violence were arrested based on specific information. However, social media rumours are inciting ordinary students against law enforcement,” he said. Quader accused cybercriminals of spreading false information and images to international media to malign the country. He also claimed that BNP-Jamaat armed cadres had orchestrated attacks on key state infrastructures like Metro Rail stations and BTV.
“We clearly state that all those involved in the heinous acts of destruction and murder will be brought to justice. The government will exhibit the utmost firmness in maintaining public peace, order, and state security,” Quader declared.
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The minister also mentioned that the government has formed a commission to investigate every murder in these violent incidents. “The government is determined to bring those involved in these killings to justice following a thorough investigation. Mirza Fakhrul’s claim that no list of the deceased has been published is false. The Home Minister has already disclosed the number of casualties to the media,” he said.
Quader accused Fakhrul of attempting to mislead the investigation with premature comments about the killings. “BNP-Jamaat is desperate to seize power by any means. Law enforcement agencies have identified the masterminds and financiers behind these terrorist activities based on specific information, and the process of their arrest is ongoing,” he added.