Not only Tarique Rahman but democracy is returning after 17 years: Mirza Abbas

BNP National Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas has said that after 17 years, it is not only Tarique Rahman who is returning, but democracy itself is returning to Bangladesh. He said Tarique Rahman is coming back to the country carrying with him the democracy founded by Shaheed Ziaur Rahman and nurtured by party chief Begum Khaleda Zia.

Mirza Abbas made the remarks on Saturday, December 20, at a preparatory meeting organised at the Sadeq Hossain Khoka Community Centre in Gopibagh, marking the homecoming of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman. He said the people of the country would welcome Tarique Rahman.

In his speech, Mirza Abbas said those who do not love the country and do not wish for its welfare may look like humans but are in fact devils in human form. He said the same forces that opposed Pakistan in 1947 opposed Bangladesh in 1971, and they have never wanted peace in the country. Even if they remain silent for a while, he added, their claws and poisonous fangs re-emerge, showing the continuity of their activities.

He further said anti-democratic forces can never survive in the face of democracy. Warning those involved in conspiracies, he said the nation wants to know who set fire to institutions including Prothom Alo and The Daily Star. He described them as enemies of the nation and called for their swift resistance.

Mirza Abbas also said that although the BNP introduced multi-party democracy in the country, a group is now creating mobs in the name of democracy, making public life unbearable. He demanded that the government immediately take effective action against mob violence.