JaSaD finds Sheikh Selim, BNP rants similar, sounds warning to coalition partner Awami League

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal is angry at the similarity in the nature of tirades launched by Awami League leader Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim and BNP leader Asaduzzaman Ripon over JaSaD’s role after the Liberation War.

Such remarks will create confusion in the ruling 14-Party alliance, JaSaD has said in a veiled warning to the Awami League which leads the coalition.
 
JaSad, which Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu leads, issued a statement on Monday.
 
Their reaction came after media reports said Awami League Presidium member Selim on Sunday alleged that JaSaD was responsible for creating the ground for the assassination of Bangabandhau Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
 
Following his remarks, acting BNP spokesperson Asaduzzaman Ripon on Monday blamed JaSaD for the unstable situation in Bangladesh between 1972 and 1975 and demanded investigation into their role during that time.
 
JaSaD’s statement said the similar anti-JaSaD comments by Selim and Ripon nearly at the same time had led them to question whether there was any connection between them.
 
The unity in the 14-Party alliance would be threatened by the Awami League leader’s comment similar to the BNP, it said.
 
The statement was signed by JaSaD Executive President Moin Uddin Khan Badal and General Secretary Sharif Nurul Ambia.
 
It said ‘such remarks by Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim would only strengthen the enemy’.
 

Media reports quoted Awami League MP Selim, a cousin of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, saying on Sunday, “Anti-liberation forces would have never been able to attack Bangabandhu if the Ganabahini and JaSaD had not created that situation by opposing him, robbing and murdering people and killing MPs.”

“That’s why the main mystery behind Bangabandhu’s murder must be solved and people who were involved must be identified,” Selim was quoted as saying.

A group of rogue army officers assassinated the nation’s founding father Sheikh Mujib and most of his family members on Aug 15, 1975.

JaSaD had left Awami League’s side after Bangladesh became independent in 1971 and opposed the then government led by Bangabandhu.

But the party joined the Awami League-led coalition in the 1980s and is still a member of the alliance.

Regarding the party’s role between 1972 and 1975, JaSaD MP Badal said in Parliament earlier this year they were now ‘compensating for the mistakes’ made during that time.

BNP leader Ripon on Monday said JaSaD and its ‘terror group’ Ganabahini were responsible for leading Bangladesh into a volatile situation in 1972-75.

“Not just us, your (JaSaD) misdeeds are also being pointed out from the ruling party high-up,” Ripon said.

The JaSaD statement said the party’s involvement with or connection to Bangabandhu’s murder was never found during the case’s long investigation, in the chargesheet, witness statements and the court’s verdict and observation.

“Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim’s remarks even after that are not only (an attempt) to conceal the truth, but also prove to be motivated.”