The ruling Awami League and Jatiya Party has got united against the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, which had a member in the cabinet, for its “anti-government” role between 1972 and 1975, creating a deadlock for a while in the assembly.
This is for the first time in the last 56 working days of the 10th Jatiya Sangsad that parliament saw a standoff as a minister said creation of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) gave the anti-liberation forces an opening to unite under its banner.
Replying to a notice of Jatiya Party MP Kazi Feroz Rashid Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque said the whole nation was paying for the mistakes of the JSD.
While reading out his private-member resolution asking the liberation war affairs minister to bring the list of the Bangladesh Liberation Force (BLF) from India, Kazi Feroz said Bangabandhu would not have been assassinated if the JSD had not formed its armed wing Gono Bahini.
The House adopted the first private member resolution according to which the government must bring the BLF list from India.
In presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and JSD President Hasanul Haq Inu, who was sitting hardly one metre away, Moyeen Uddin Khan Badal termed the government-opposition consensus against the JSD surprising and said his party was “slaughtered”.
He said: “Mind it my friend, there could be explosion anytime if you walk in the historic minefield.”
Surrounded by the opposition MPs, Moyeen Uddin Badal came under verbal attacks from the Jatiya Party lawmakers who stood up and started shouting at him.
“Say what you did between 1972 and 1975,” Peer Fazlur Rahman, a former Chhatra League leader and a present Jatiya Party MP, said without microphone. Kazi Feroz Rashid and Mohammad Noman also shouted at Badal, who took the floor on a point-of-order.
In his wind-up speech, the Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad said a “bitter situation” emerged on the last day of the session.
He said the previous bad precedence should not be revisited. “Let us bury the past”, said Ershad.
Kazi Feroz Rashid, a BLF member who took armed training in India to fight the occupation Pakistan forces in 1971, first trained his gun on the JSD while reading out his private member resolution to bring a list of the BLF members from India.
“The BLF was created to stop any counter revolution after the liberation war. But one of the members of the force Sirajul Alam Khan came out of the organisation and formed the JSD. The JSD and the Gono Bahini killed Chhatra League-Jubo League activists wherever they got them,” Kazi Feroz told parliament.
He said: “If the JSD had not been created the Gono Bahini would not have been formed and nobody would have dared kill Bangabandhu.”
As parliamentary rule, AKM Mozammel Haque told the House: “Sirajul Alam Khan has smoothed the path of counter revolution. The anti-liberation forces gathered centring the JSD. Those who could not accept Bangladesh such as Muslim League turned into JSD men overnight.”
“But the whole nation is still paying for the mistake; we have been paying for 43 years,” he said requesting the House to accept the private member resolution of Kazi Feroz Rashid.
“A surprising incident has taken place at the Sangsad today: the opposition has tabled a proposal and an alliance of the ruling party has been slaughtered merrily,” said Badal taking floor on a point-of-order mainly to counter the minister and MP.
He said the JSD had been involved in every democratic movement since its inception.
“The events of 1972-75 were the curve of history; time will speak which was right and wrong,” he said.
“It is not proper for the autocratic force against whom all parties fought to speak like that,” said Badal saying that over 20,000 JSD activists were also killed.
He said the JSD aligned with the government with a decision.
“I was asked at a TV show why I defended the Awami League more than the Awami League. In reply, I said we have been aligned (with Awami League) to compensate the unfair treatment we did to our father.
