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DHAKA: BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Friday said the spirit of the November 7 revolution inspired the July Mass Uprising of 2024.
He said people took to the streets during the July uprising with a determination to protect the country’s independence and sovereignty and ensure the continuation of multiparty democracy.
Rizvi said a people’s government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had been established through a free and fair election and was now working to fulfil its electoral pledges through programmes including the Family Card, canal excavation and tree plantation.
He made the remarks after paying homage at the mausoleums of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia in the morning on the occasion of National Revolution and Solidarity Day.
Rizvi said the government that came to power in 2009 had deprived people of their rights and pushed the country towards what he described as severe fascism.
“A culture of enforced disappearances, killings and secret assassinations was established. People were afraid to speak out or even move freely on the streets,” he said.
In such circumstances, Rizvi said, students, workers and people from all walks of life took to the streets in July 2024 and, through a mass uprising, forced Sheikh Hasina to step down on August 5.
He said the spirit of November 7 represented the protection of independence and sovereignty and the continuation of multiparty democracy.
Inspired by that spirit, he said, the people had defeated anti-democratic forces in the country.
Rizvi said Bangladesh regained multiparty democracy under the leadership of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and made progress in development and production through various programmes introduced during his leadership.
Canal excavation, self-reliance initiatives, efforts to achieve food self-sufficiency and literacy campaigns helped the nation stand on its own feet and establish itself as a dignified state in the international arena, he said.
The BNP acting secretary general said Bangladesh would not fall under the grip of hegemonic forces. He said the November 7 revolution and its aftermath gave the people renewed determination to protect the country’s democracy, independence and sovereignty.
He said Ziaur Rahman and his family had been confined to their residence in the cantonment on November 3, 1975. Zia was later released, which, Rizvi said, gave the nation a renewed sense of direction.
BNP National Standing Committee member and Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Social Welfare Minister Dr A Z M Zahid Hossain, Prime Minister’s Adviser Nazrul Islam Khan, BNP Vice Chairman and Chief Whip of Parliament Md Nurul Islam Moni, State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque, and BNP Publicity Secretary and State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salahuddin Tuku were present.
Dhaka North City Corporation Administrator Shafiqul Islam Milton and Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Abdus Salam, among others, were also present.