Jamaat Never Allied With Awami League, Golam Parwar Says in Sharp Message to BNP
Jamaat-e-Islami has never formed an alliance with the banned-activities Awami League, the party's Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar has said. He made the comment at a programme in the capital at midday on Tuesday (October 20). In the same speech, he also sharply criticised the politics of the BNP.
Golam Parwar said Jamaat-e-Islami never allied with the Awami League, and that all opposition parties together had formed a liaison committee against the BNP to restore the caretaker government system. Observers believe his remarks were a response to discussion about Jamaat's past political position.
Criticising the BNP, he said the BNP has forgotten within seven months what a fascist is, and that extortion, looting, installing its own party men and betraying the people are fascism itself. He said Jamaat-e-Islami, holding onto July, is continuing its movement on the streets, while the BNP, instead of holding onto July, is walking towards repression.
The Jamaat leader also said the BNP is confusing the state, the government and the ruling party, and that speaking about corruption and party activists is being treated as sedition. He said the government itself, not Jamaat, is trying to bring back autocracy by raising spectres, and has counter-blamed all opposition parties by raising such spectres. His speech directed accusations at both the government and the BNP.
Raising the execution of two Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia, Golam Parwar said the government woke up only after the verdict was carried out, and called it a complete diplomatic failure of Bangladesh. His comment on diplomatic efforts to protect expatriate Bangladeshis has created fresh discussion.
Discussion about the relationship between Jamaat and the BNP in the political arena is long-standing. Distance and counter-statements between the two former alliance partners have been visible on various issues in recent times. Political observers believe Golam Parwar's Tuesday speech is another expression of that tension.
Raising the movement to restore the caretaker government system, he recalled the joint programmes and the liaison committee of the past. According to his speech, that cooperation was a joint position of opposition parties on a specific demand, not an alliance with any party, and this is the distinction he wanted to make clear.
On the question of holding onto July, Jamaat is presenting its position as a continuation of the movement. In Golam Parwar's words, Jamaat-e-Islami is on the streets holding onto July while the BNP is walking towards repression instead, an accusation that reflects the current political competition between the two parties.
Raising allegations of extortion, looting and installing party men, he also presented his own definition of fascism. In his view, betraying the people is fascism. Through this speech he sharpened both moral and political attacks against his opponents.
Accusing the government of raising spectres, he said the charge of trying to bring back autocracy points towards the government, not Jamaat. He also criticised the politics of counter-blaming opposition parties.
If the BNP or the government responds to this speech, the political debate may grow further. For now, Golam Parwar's remarks are at the centre of the day's political discussion.
Jamaat's street programmes in the coming days and the reactions of other parties will show whether this exchange of statements remains limited to a war of words or creates a new polarisation in the politics of alliances and equations.
