BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said as many as 422 people from his party were killed across the country during the mass uprising in July-August.
"According to various reports, 875 people were martyred across Bangladesh in the July mass murder until August 13, of whom at least 422 were involved in BNP politics," Fakhrul said.
He said that whether garment workers, rickshaw pullers, students from public or private universities, followers of left or right ideologies, or individuals from any political or non-political background, every life is equally valuable, and every drop of blood is significant, regardless of the identity of the casualties.
The BNP leader made the comments at a press conference of the party's Standing Committee held at the Chairperson’s office in Gulshan on Sunday.
Fakhrul said as Bangladesh’s leading political party, BNP has echoed the people's aims by taking to the streets with full force in the people's uprising.
“Rather than seeking political gain from the movement, BNP's goal was to play the maximum organizational role in the uprising through the participation of leaders, workers, and supporters at all levels, and to establish a democratic Bangladesh by toppling fascism,” he added.
Regarding participation in the movement, he said: "A significant portion of the 6 million BNP members who faced false cases during the fascist period have stood as a shield against the conspiracies and oppression, supporting the common people. Consequently, BNP and all like-minded political parties have joined the people from their respective positions, representing the forces for democracy."
In his written statement titled "BNP's Role, Contribution, and Expectations in the Journey Towards a Democratic Bangladesh," Mirza Fakhrul added: "Today is International Democracy Day. History bears witness that the people of Bangladesh have had to make repeated sacrifices and shed blood for the establishment of democracy.
“Whenever autocracy has threatened the independence of this country, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has always restored democracy."
He added that after crushing 16 years of autocratic misrule, the people of Bangladesh got the taste of liberation again on August 5 and paved the way for democracy.
‘Wasim killed on same day as Abu Sayed’
BNP secretary general said that on July 16, police brutally killed Abu Sayed, a student of Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur; on the same day, Wasim Akram, joint convener of Chittagong College unit Chhatra Dal, was also killed.
These incidents sparked widespread outrage across Bangladesh and intensified the movement.
"On July 18, during a water distribution event in Uttara, police gunfire killed Mir Mugdho, a student from Bangladesh University of Professionals. On the same day, police gunfire in Jatrabari killed Irfan Bhuiyan, a Chhatra Dal leader from United International University, and Imtiaz Ahmed Jaber, a Chhatra Dal leader from Southeast University,” he said.
In the meantime, on July 17, a drama was staged in the name of DB police raid on the BNP's central office. More than 3,000 BNP leaders and activists, including 50 top leaders, were arrested in a short time, he added.
The arrestees include BNP standing committee members Nazrul Islam Khan, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, and others.
‘BNP men lost eyesight’
BNP's general secretary reported that over a hundred BNP leaders and activists have lost their vision due to police actions.
The BNP secretary general said: “After killing in Ashulia, Savar, the police stacked the bodies in a van and burned them with gunpowder, including Sajjad Hossain Sojol of the Nationalist Textile Engineers Association. Furthermore, during the mass uprising, over a hundred BNP leaders and activists lost their vision due to police gunfire, including six from Gangachara upazila in Rangpur—Tushar, Haris, Shahjalal, and others.
He added: “The demands of July-August and the sacrifices of the BNP have been a backdrop for over a decade. Despite being victims of abduction, murder, attacks, and repression on the streets, BNP has led the blood-soaked struggle as representatives of the people's protests.”