No minority repression during BNP govt: Fakhrul

BNP yesterday claimed that no incident of minority repression occurred in the country when the party was in power.

“When India passed Citizenship Amendment Bill, it said members of minority communities were repressed in Bangladesh when BNP was in power. We strongly condemn this statement. Minorities’ interests were protected during BNP’s tenure,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of the party, said.

“The scale of repression on minorities during the Awami League government is unprecedented,” he added.

Speaking at a press conference at the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters, the BNP leader said violation of human rights continues in the country.

Referring to a report of rights body Ain O Salish Kendra, Fakhrul said in the last 10 years more than 1,500 extrajudicial killings happened in the country.

He also said cases were filed against over one lakh persons who are political opponents of the AL government.

Fakhrul said, “Those who expressed dissenting opinions were either arrested or abducted. Many political leaders, rights activists and journalists were abducted.”

The BNP leader alleged that in the last 10 years, human rights violation in the country has been worse than that during the Pakistan period.

He claimed that the Awami League government has been violating human rights in every sphere to stay in the office.