'If BNP is not in power, Awami League will tear Jamaat and NCP apart': PM's aide Rashed Khan
Rashed Khan, political assistant to the Prime Minister, has said that if the BNP government is not in power, the Awami League will tear Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) apart like a vulture. He also requested them not to make themselves a laughing stock while trying to pose as a strong opposition.
Rashed Khan wrote these remarks in a Facebook status on Tuesday (20 October). His status has triggered fresh discussion in political circles.
In the status, he requested the opposition parties not to make themselves a laughing stock with remarks such as 'will flee', 'the lungi will not remain', 'keep a helicopter ready' or 'there will be another mass uprising' while trying to pose as a strong opposition party.
Raising questions about the political experience of Jamaat's members of parliament, Rashed Khan wrote that most Jamaat MPs were never part of street movements.
He claimed they became MPs mainly with the blessing of the interim government and by following the theory of a 'welfare mechanism'. For that reason, they are not accustomed to street-style speeches.
He further wrote that, as opposition leaders, Jamaat's leaders often lose their thread when speaking in parliament or on the streets.
Criticising the Jamaat amir's remarks, Rashed Khan said people are laughing and joking about his incoherent comments about the government.
In his view, Jamaat has failed to uphold the coordination that was needed between the governing party and the opposition in rebuilding the state after the mass uprising.
Rashed Khan also wrote that Jamaat is now speaking against a government elected by the people's vote in almost the same language that was once used against Sheikh Hasina during the fascist era.
He believes Jamaat leaders are losing their thread while trying to follow the speeches of opposition leaders from the Awami League government era. He commented that such remarks, made while trying to present themselves as a strong opposition, are turning them into a laughing stock.
In the final part of the status, Rashed Khan gave his sharpest warning. He said that if the BNP government is not in power, the Awami League will peck at and tear Jamaat and the NCP apart like a vulture.
The remarks by the Prime Minister's political assistant come amid ongoing political tension between the government and the opposition parties. No reaction was available from Jamaat or the NCP on this status.
For political observers, the question now is what impact this pattern of opposition speeches and counter-speeches will have on parliamentary and street politics in the coming days, and how the opposition camp responds to this warning from the government side.
