This Eid is ‘very different’, feels ‘free and joyous’, says BNP’s Mirza Fakhrul

“On this day, we hope that the interim government will fulfil the promises they made to the people,” he says

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir says that this Eid-ul-Fitr is being celebrated in a “free and joyous manner” compared to the festivities under the “fascist regime”.

He made the remarks after paying his respects at the grave of Ziaur Rahman, the founder of the party, on Eid day on Monday.

Comparing the Eid festivities to those of the past 15 years, he said: “There is a huge difference. We are celebrating Eid in a free and joyous environment.”

The BNP leader also spoke of his expectations for the interim government.

“On this day, we hope that the interim government will fulfil the promises they made to the people,” Fakhrul said.

“On behalf of our party, we have also sworn to fulfil that promise.”

He said, “Today, on this holy day of Eid-ul-Fitr, I pray to Allah that every Bangladeshi can celebrate Eid with joy. I pray that our national leader Begum Khaleda Zia recovers and returns to us soon and that our leader Tarique Rahman returns to us very soon.”

At 11:30am, Fakhrul, accompanied by BNP Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, and Nazrul Islam Khan placed flowers at the grave of Ziaur Rahman in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. They also prayed for him.

Afterwards, Fakhrul said: "On behalf of the party, on behalf of Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, on behalf of Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and the members of the Standing Committee, we wish you all (the media) Eid Mubarak. Through you, we wish Eid Mubarak to the entire country."

The BNP secretary general also prayed for the forgiveness of the souls of those who sacrificed their lives in the 1971 Liberation War and the July Uprising and past democratic movements in the country.

He said he also prayed for Khaleda’s speedy recovery and her and her son Tarique’s speedy return to Bangladesh.

"I prayed to Almighty Allah that the struggle for democracy that we have fought for the past 15 years -the struggle to restore democracy, the struggle for the right to vote, the struggle for the right to food, the struggle for human rights, may be established."

Khaleda, who flew to London for advanced medical treatment on Jan 8, is spending this Eid with her son, her daughters-in-law and granddaughters after eight years apart from her family.