A Lalon memorial festival in Madhupur upazila of Tangail has been cancelled following objections allegedly from Hefazat-e-Islam.
The festival had been scheduled to start at 8pm on Wednesday in the Madhupur Upazila Bus Stand area, organized by Madhupur Lalon Sangha, to commemorate the 134th death anniversary of Fakir Lalon Shah, but could not be held due to objections.
According to information provided by Madhupur Lalon Sangha, the event was supposed to have Madhupur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Jubayer Hossain as the chief guest.
Regarding the matter, festival organizing committee convener Sabuj Mia said: "We organized the event with permission from the upazila administration and relevant authorities. However, in the face of objections from Hefazat-e-Islam, we could not hold the event."
Earlier in the afternoon, Sabuj Mia mentioned in a Facebook post that the Lalon memorial festival had been cancelled.
He wrote: "Suddenly, we received news that Madhupur Hefazat-e-Islam had raised objections regarding our event. A discussion was held about this on Tuesday. Present at the discussion were Madhupur Hefazat-e-Islam President Anwar Hossain, General Secretary Mahmudullah, Qaumi Ulama Parishad President Solaiman Qasemi, and 10-15 others. Representing Lalon Sangha were President Farhad Hossain Torofdar and myself. The mediation was conducted by Madhupur Upazila BNP President Zakir Hossain Sarkar."
"In response, we clarified that our event was not organized to promote any ideology. No discussions on Lalon’s philosophy had taken place in the past, nor would they happen this time. We organized this event purely for entertainment. Additionally, we assured them that the songs they objected to would not be performed at the event," Sabuj mentioned in his Facebook post.
"Initially, Hefazat leaders said they would not object if we organized a general concert without mentioning Lalon. However, later, they declared that they would not allow the event to take place under any circumstances."
When asked about the reason for their objections, Hefazat-e-Islam's Mahmudullah said: "We objected to the propagation of Lalon's misguided ideology because it contradicts Islam."
Meanwhile, UNO Jubayer Hossain said: "I was invited to the event. However, on Tuesday night, the organizers informed me that the event had been postponed. For such events, permission must be obtained from the district administration and relevant authorities. Madhupur Lalon Sangha organized this event without notifying the administration. However, in the end, the event did not take place."
