Declaring Tajul Islam Chowdhury, opposition Chief Whip in the parliament and a marked war criminal in Kurigram, unwanted, Muktijoddha Janata yesterday brought out protest rally, and burned Tajul’s effigy.
The rally was held in front of Kurigram Press Club under the banner of local Muktijoddha Janata in the noon. Organiser of the Liberation War Aminul Islam Manju Mondol, former sadar upazila Liberation War Commander Abdul Baten, freedom fighter Hossain Ali, Awami League leader Rasheduzzaman Babu, former municipal chairman Kaziul Islam and district Chhatra League President Minhajul Islam Ayub addressed the rally among others.
The rally ended having roamed key roads of the city and participants then burned an effigy of Tajul.
Speakers at the rally said there were allegations that Tajul, also Jatiya Party Office Secretary, was involved in genocide, oppression and torching of houses at the time of the Liberation War.
Referring to the book “Uttarer Rananggan” penned by freedom fighter Aktaruzzaman Mondol, they said page 196 of it contained the account of murder of 35 people in Kathalbari area and also deliberate destruction of houses by setting those on fire on June 9, 1971, and the operation was led by Tajul. On January 7, 2008, Bir Pratik Abdul Hai also lodged a complaint against the opposition Chief Whip on charges of killing freedom fighters Domas Chandra and Abdul Karim after picking them up from Mogolbasa on December 3, 1971.
District freedom fighter commander Sirajul Islam Tuku said Tajul was elected lawmaker uncontested as a Jatiya Party candidate from Kurigram 2 constituency and the pro-Liberation War people in the constituency were unable to accept such a marked war criminal as a parliamentarian.
In his address, Bir Pratik Abdul Hai spoke resentfully of the government, saying it made a marked war criminal a legislator through a predetermined election, despite the claim that it bore the spirit of Liberation War.