Youth and sports adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain on Sunday said that the interim government must take full responsibility for the attack on Gono Odhikar Parishad president Nurul Haque Nur.
On the other hand, Bangladesh Nationalist Party senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged that the attack was pre-planned and aimed to kill Nur.
After visiting Nur, who remained under treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, adviser Asif Mahmud told journalists that such a brutal attack on Nur did not happen even during the Awami League regime, but it took place under this government. Whoever was behind the attack, the government must take the responsibility because it is in power now.鈥�
Noting that attempts are under way to bring back the Awami League through the Jatiya Party, he said, 鈥楽ince the efforts to create a 鈥渞efined Awami League鈥� have failed, there is now an attempt going on to use the Jatiya Party to rehabilitate it.鈥�
鈥楾he Jatiya Party is a well-known fascist party. We have seen in the past that they repeatedly legitimised the fascist parliament of the Awami League. With prescriptions from India, they established an artificial parliament and showcased fake democracy,鈥� he said.
He further warned that any move to support these 鈥榠dentified fascists鈥� would not be acceptable to the people or to anti-fascist political parties.
On the issue of inclusive elections, Asif Mahmud said, 鈥楽ome people don鈥檛 want any democratic or political settlement in Bangladesh without involving the Awami League. If anti-fascist parties take on the roles of the government and the opposition, then such a settlement won鈥檛 materialise.鈥�
鈥楬owever, if the Awami League can鈥檛 be brought back in any format, some people will try to foil the elections. But we believe that the government and the democratic political forces are determined to resist such efforts,鈥� he said.
Regarding the possibility of banning the Jatiya Party, he said that the government was yet to make an official decision in this regard but it had begun discussions with stakeholders.
On allegations raised against the army, Asif Mahmud said that the government was considering forming a strong investigation committee, adding that this was not an attack on an ordinary political activist, but on the chief of a political party.
The government is determined to ensure justice for this attack so that no one dares to commit such heinous act in the future, he added.
After visiting Nurul Haque Nur at the hospital, BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi also questioned the role of the Jatiya Party and its chair GM Quader in Bangladesh鈥檚 politics even after the July uprising.
鈥楤efore the last election, GM Quader came back from India and said, 鈥楴othing can be said without India鈥檚 permission.鈥� How can such a person do politics here? How can he still speak? They don鈥檛 believe in this country,鈥� he said.
Rizvi said, 鈥業 believe that the attack was planned, with the intention to kill him. Nur was a target of the fascist Hasina regime.鈥�
Referring to the attack where Nur was injured, Rizvi said, 鈥楾here was no violence or terrorist activity at that event. Yet, this brutal attack was carried out, which I see as part of a larger conspiracy.鈥�
He also said that the 鈥榙efeated forces of 5 August鈥� were now trying to reassert themselves through various plots.
鈥楾he accomplices of fascism will never allow Bangladesh鈥檚 independence, sovereignty, and democracy to be stable,鈥� Rizvi added.
Nurul Haque Nur, who, along with dozens of activists, was injured in a baton charge by law enforcers in Dhaka on Friday evening after a clash between supporters of the Gono Odhikar Parishad and the Jatiya Party.