Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has condemned banning Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami by the government.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in a statement on behalf of his party issued on Thursday termed the government decision in this regard as undemocratic and anti-constitutional.
"Our attention has been drawn to the ban of Jamaat by the government. Intimacy between Awami League and Jamaat in the past is known to all," he said.
"Once upon a time, they (Awami League and Jamaat) were cordial partners (political) of each other. Both Awami League and Jamaat took part in stage-managed election to legitimise the autocrat (Ershad regime)," he said.
He also recalled that Awami League along with Jatiya Party and Jamaat observed 173 days of hartal and blockade programmes against the then BNP government after 90s for holding general elections under a neutral caretaker government.
He said that the then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina (now Prime Minister) and Jamaat leaders were pictured announcing programmes sitting together that is still in the memory of all.
"That time they didn't' consider Jamaat as terrorist or anti liberation force, because that time Jamaat has kept pace with the Awami League," he maintained.
"Today Jamaat is opposing the fascist Awami League government. As they (Jamaat) are no longer with the Awami League so they (Awami League) labeled Jamaat as terrorist," he continued.
"People of the country know it today which political party is actually terrorist. Awami League is the main patron of terrorists. The whole country is now on the verge of ruination due to their (Awami League) anarchy, killings and violence. They have turned the country into a failed state," he said.
"The constitution of Bangladesh gives the rights to form a political party or organisation. Anyone can form political party or organisation as part of the constitutional rights," he said.
In the statement, Mr Fakhrul Islam Alamgir further said that it was illegal and anti-constitutional to ban a political party blaming it with terrorist tag without carrying out impartial, acceptable, and justified international standard investigation.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com