Awami League Joint General Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud has termed it regrettable that the BNP did not observe the Mujibnagar Day though its founder Ziaur Rahman did a job of Tk400 per month under the Mujibnagar government.
Hasan thinks the BNP wants to deny the history by ignoring this day. "They do not observe many historic days. But, BNP founder Ziaur Rahman worked under the Mujibnagar government for Tk400 per month,” he said on Sunday.
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman could not take oath as he was imprisoned in Pakistan, but the government, which was formed under his leadership, took the oath on this day (April 17) in 1971 at Mujibnagar in Kushtia (now Meherpur), he said at an event at the Secretariat.
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The Liberation War was conducted by the Mujibnagar government, the first (provisional) government of Bangladesh. The sector commanders of the war were appointed under that government, he said.
Hasan, also the information and broadcasting minister, made the remarks while addressing a discussion and unwrapping the cover of a book named “Sangbad Shironame Bangabandhu”, marking the historic Mujibnagar Day.
He said that there was also a question of whether Ziaur Rahman had participated in the war or acted as a spy of Pakistan. In fact, he acted as a spy of Pakistan in the guise of a Freedom Fighter, the minister said.
Recalling the contribution of journalists during the Liberation War, the minister said the local and foreign journalists had started journeying from Kolkata Press Club at midnight to collect the news of the oath-taking programme of the Mujibnagar government though they did not know where their destination was. Later, they gathered at Baidyanathtala, mainly a mango orchard, in Meherpur on April 17 and the place was named Mujibnagar. The journalists spread the news across the world, he added.
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About the book, Hasan said the news on Bangabandhu which was published from 1952 to 1975 in different newspapers got placed in the book. Different clips of newspapers including the daily Azad, the Ittefaq, the Sangbad, the Daily Pakistan, the Dainik Bangla, the Purbodesh, the Peoples, the Morning Star, The Observer, the Anandabazar, The Hindu, the Evening News, the New York Times, the Times, the Japan Times, the Guardian and the Washington Post, have enriched the book.
Information and Broadcasting Secretary Md Mokbul Hossain presided over the meeting. Press Institute of Bangladesh Director General Zafar Wazed, DG of the Department of Films and Publication SM Golam Kibria and Principal Information Officer Md Shahenur Mia, among others, addressed the discussion.
