General Muhammad Ataul Goni Osmani (MAG Osmani) distorted the history of Bangladesh's Liberation War, Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, member of parliament (MP) and Awami League presidium member has said.
“There are some things I needed to say about the Liberation War. I will not say today, as it might be controversial. This freedom fighter has distorted the history of the Liberation War. Who distorted it? General Osmani. That is what I wanted to say,” the senior leader said.
He made the remarks at a special discussion at the National Parliament on Sunday.
The senior lawmaker noted that General Osmani was loved by Bangabandhu, and was given various responsibilities including the conferral of Bir Bikram and Bir Uttam titles to freedom fighters.
Mosharraf Hossain Bangla Tribune“He (General Osmani) gave the titles to whomever he found. There was no account of it,” said Engineer Mosharraf Hossain.
Hossain also claimed that once General Osmani called him and asked if he wanted to join Jatiya Janata Party.
He replied to Osmani over the phone: “What did you say? I am already a member of a party. He (General Osami) asked me which one, and I said Awami League.”
The lawmaker claimed that General Osmani later asked if Awami League still existed after he refused to join Jatiya Janata Party.
“I regret that there was no protest in the country after the killing of Bangabandhu. We cried a lot. We had nothing in hand, nothing we could do. We were freedom fighters, we had no tools, nothing. After Bangabandhu's death, we strengthened the organization,” said Hossain.
After his retirement from the army as a Colonel in 1967, Osmani joined the Awami League and was elected a member of the National Assembly in 1970.
With the formation of the Mujibnagar Government on April 17, 1971, he was appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces and of the Liberation Forces. After liberation, Osmani was elevated to the rank of General.
After retirement, he was then included in the cabinet of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as minister in charge of Shipping, Inland Water Transport and Aviation. He was also elected a member of the Jatiya Sangsad in 1973, and included in the new cabinet with charge of the Ministries of Post, Telegraph and Telephone, Communication, Shipping, Inland Water Transport and Aviation.
He resigned from the cabinet in May 1974. After the introduction of one-party system in 1975, he resigned from the Jatiya Sangsad and also from the primary membership of the Awami League.
Osmani was appointed defence adviser to President Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad after Bangabandhu's assassination. But he resigned immediately after the killing of the four national leaders inside the Dhaka Central Jail on November 3.
A life-long bachelor, Osmani died on February 16, 1984 while under treatment for cancer in London.
