Sharply criticizing Ziaur Rahman for making politics toxic, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today said Zia started criminalization and commercialization of politics in the country and brought the businessmen into forefront of politics in lieu of money.
In continuation to that, former President Hossain Mohammad Ershad advanced the process of criminalization of politics and subsequently Begum Khaleda Zia gave it a final shape.
He was addressing a civic memorial meeting of Muktijuddah and founder of NAP Professor Mozaffar Ahmed at Bangabandhu Hall of Chattogram Press Club.
The information minister described BNP’s emergence as a party with political leftovers saying that its founder Ziaur Rahman floated the platform distributing leftovers of power.
Zia bought political leaders after the assassination of Bangabandhu in 1975, the information minister added.
Today’s senior leaders of BNP were also bought at that time, he continued.
“Zia attracted them (politicians) scattering leftovers of political power to float BNP . . . he did it in the way the food leftovers attract crows,” Dr Hasan Mahmud said.
Dr. Hasan, who is also publicity and publication secretary of Awami League, said that in the process of forming BNP, Zia actually killed democracy to rehabilitate war criminals and pave ways for anti-liberation forces to return to politics.
Sheikh Hasina returned to Bangladesh in 1981 for restoration of politics and democracy, he said, adding that she (Hasina) also established rights for voting and food through her long political struggle.
“But the vested quarter wanted to kill her and launched attacks on her 19 times. But she escaped from such assassination attempts,” Dr Hasan added.
“There is no alternative to the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the country has undergone a lot of change in the past 11 years under her leadership,” he said.
Paying rich tributes to former President of NAP for his outstanding contributions to the country’s Liberation War, the information Minister said, “We have many things to learn from the prolonged political legacy of Professor Mozaffar Ahmed that he left behind for the people.”
“Mozaffar created a lot of examples for the politicians in the country as no greed could appease him during his long political carrier,” Dr. Hasan added.
City mayor and Chairman of Professor Mozaffar Ahmed Civic Memorial Committee AJM Nasir Uddin presided over the function while NAP acting general secretary Mohammad Ismail Hossin, NAP Presidium member and only daughter of Professor Mozaffar Ahmed Ivey Ahmed, Awami League leader Khurshed Alam Sujan, NAP leaders Shafiqudin Khan and Ali Newark Khan and Mulkijuddah commander Mozaffar Ahmed, among others, addressed it.
(BSS)
