Suffocating situation created in country

Senior BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday said the government had created a suffocating situation in the country by snatching people's all rights including freedom of expression.

"Now our voices are gagged, and we're not allowed to hold any rally and use a venue for our council," he told a party discussion at the capital's Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, marking International Mother Language Day.

The BNP acting secretary general noted that the observance of February 21st had now become full of hypocrisies, as the nation was losing emotion and forgetting the traditional way to pay homage to the martyrs.

He said Bangla was used wrongly in every sphere of society.

"It's pity... Our students can't speak Bangla properly," he added.

"We must overcome this situation and there's no alternative to having democracy."

Fakhrul said, "Let's take a vow at this discussion on Ekushey February to restore people's rights and democracy at the cost of any sacrifice."

BNP leaders Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Moudud Ahmed and Dhaka University's former vice chancellor Prof Emajuddin Ahmed, among others, spoke at the programme.

Meanwhile, Awami League lawmaker Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury yesterday claimed in parliament that Mirza Fakhrul was a "fake" freedom fighter and his father was a "notorious war criminal."

The AL organising secretary demanded that the Liberation War affairs minister investigate Fakhrul's "false" claim as a freedom fighter and take necessary action.

"Mirza Fakhrul's father Mirza Ruhul Amin was a notorious war criminal, as his name was placed at serial number 710 on the list of war criminals of Dinajpur," he said, speaking on a thanksgiving motion on the president's speech.

Fakhrul was not available for comments.