ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has stirred a controversy with his ‘Pakistan period was better than present time,’ which has sparked widespread criticism especially on social media according to BangladeshLive News.

Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Janata League President “Bangabir” Abdul Kader Siddique termed Alamgir’s remark as seditious, reported BangladeshLive News which stated that with his statement, the BNP proved that they wanted to launch a political imbued with Pakistani ideology

Citing that there were only 22 multimillionaires back then compared to 192,000 right now, senior BNP secretary general Alamgir had said that the gulf between the rich and the poor had increased and the low-income people were suffering immensely,

He further stated that Bangladeshis were better off under Pakistan’s military regime, both financially and in terms of quality of life. This remark sparked widespread criticism.

Reacting to the remark, Siddique said that he has shed blood for the liberation of this land and that if Fakhrul Islam feels this way, he has no right to live in Bangladesh, according to BangladeshLive News.

He condemned the BNP for enjoying the freedoms of a liberal society in Bangladesh and yet singing praises for Pakistan. He said that the political and economic turmoil of Pakistan was visible to the entire world, and yet BNP is biased towards Pakistan. In his usual imposing manner, he declared that as long as he is alive such “seditious” will never succeed in turning Bangladesh into Pakistan.

Siddique is one of the few remaining politicians who actively fought for the independence of Bangladesh during the Liberation War of 1971.

Meanwhile, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has expressed shock at the statements made by Alamgir. Quader said that no person or organisation that believes in independence, sovereignty, democracy, progress and patriotism, can make comments against the spirit of the Liberation War. Recently, Kader Siddique met Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence, reported BangladeshLive News.

At a meeting of the Jatiya Party in the capital, Kader Siddique, who is also the president of the Krishak Sramik Janata League, said: “I am like a brother of Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and I can sacrifice my life for my sister Hasina.” Also present were Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the Awami League, and other important figures from the Awami League-led 14-party alliance.

In the past, he has demanded state recognition for people who forged a “resistance movement” after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. After the assassination of Bangabondu, a number of groups of freedom fighters and army personnel waged a movement protesting it. Of those, the toughest resistance was led by Kader, as per the report in BangladeshLive News. (ANI)