Partha stirs web storm

MP Andaleeve Rahman Partha is under attack on the social media after his comment that police should make the four detained bloggers hold their ears and do sit-ups.

Partha, Chairman of Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), recommended the punishment regarding bloggers and the Ganajagaran Mancha at Shahbagh during talk show ‘Tritio Matra’ on ‘Channel I’ on Thursday midnight.

The BJP leader has been repeatedly claiming since the inception of the Shahbagh civil uprising that he has no issues with the spirit of the movement.

About parading the bloggers handcuffed before media, Partha said: “Many have said that the way they were arrested, produced and presented before the media gave the impression that they were militants. … Militants! Police should have made them hold their ears and do sit-ups.”

He went to say, “Did they expect that they would be presented with tuberose sticks?”

Another guest of the talk-show, Bengali daily Bangladesh Pratidin Editor Naem Nizam, disagreed with Partha immediately.

Partha was elected MP from the constituency of his father former BJP chief Naziur Rahman Monju after his death. Partha was later elected the Chairman of the party.

Bowing to the demand of radical Islamist group Hifazat-e Islam which is against the 'Ganajagaran Mancha', the government arrested bloggers Subrata Adhikary Shuvo, 24, Russell Parvez, 36, and Mashiur Rahman Biplob, 42, on Apr 1 night.

Two days later, blogger Asif Mohiuddin, 30, was taken from his home for allegedly hurting the religious beliefs of the people.

They were arrested on charges of making inflammatory postings on sensitive religious issues on the internet, and a case was filed under the Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006 two weeks later.

Partha echoed BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s contention that the Shahbagh’s Ganajagaran Mancha is ‘the Mancha of atheists’.

“How can a Muslim say that these four youths are active members of Ganajagaran Mancha, that they only write blogs, why arrest them, we protest their arrests, when it is said that they insulted Prophet Mohammad.”

“So, when my opposition leader says it’s the mancha of atheists, she is right,” he said.

As soon as the video clip of his remarks went on the internet, protests and criticisms began pouring onto the social media. Several people also called bdnews24.com and protested his comments.

Asked for his reaction to Partha’s remarks, blogger Omi Rahman Pial told bdnews24.com: “What he [Partha] says is rubbish. His does not usually speak logically.”

Pial said, “Of the four arrested bloggers, only the writings of Asif Mohiuddin could possibly be religiously offensive.”

“But the entire community of bloggers cannot be put in the same bracket as Asif Mohiuddin because what he wrote was his own opinion.”

He also stressed that it was a ‘bad practice’ to call the arrested bloggers as ‘religious offenders’ or ‘traitors’ in the media.

Reached by telephone, Partha told bdnews24.com he had not spoken against the blog activists but against ‘atheist bloggers’. The lawmaker also claimed the video clip containing his comments had been ‘tampered with’.

“I spoke against those who had made anti-Islam remarks. I opposed when it was said that many had sympathised [with the bloggers] when they (the three blog activists) were presented before the media as ‘militants’,” he said.

The lawmaker said there was no room for sympathy for those who ‘insult Islam’ through their writings in blogs.

Partha skirted a direct reply when asked whether he had read blogs of any of the detained four bloggers. “They (the blog activists) have admitted that they had written without knowing,” he claimed, adding, “It (the confessions) has also been published in dailies. There can be no questions after that.”

The BJP chief said questions had arisen over the Ganajagaran Mancha since it protested against the detention of the ‘atheist bloggers. “I respect Shahbagh and don’t have any personal clashes with Imran H Sarker (Ganajagaran Mancha spokesperson), Maruf Rasul or Omi Rahman Pial,” he said.

“But they did not do the right thing by siding with the atheist bloggers,” Partha said.

Partha called bdnews24.com on Saturday and claimed a section of the social media appreciated his stance over the issue.