BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman said that some people or groups claim that different political parties have held power at various times, and now suggest giving another party (implicitly referring to Jamaat-e-Islami) a chance. According to him, the people of Bangladesh “saw this group clearly in 1971 and witnessed how, in pursuit of their own interests, they were involved in the killing of countless civilians.”

He added that he has recently noticed individuals—both offline and on social media—saying things like, “We have seen this party or that party in power; now give this other group a try.” Rahman remarked that the nation had already seen the actions of that group during the Liberation War, alleging that they were responsible for mass killings for self-preservation, similar in his view to how a fallen authoritarian ruler ordered the killing of many people before fleeing. “Those whom some people now promote,” he said, “the country already saw them in 1971.”

Rahman further stated that, besides the killings, “their associates dishonored many women,” something he said should not be forgotten.

He made these comments on Sunday afternoon while joining an event virtually as the chief guest at the Krishibid Institution in Dhaka’s Farmgate. The programme, titled “Plan for Building the Nation,” was organized by the BNP in observance of Victory Month, with the participation of over a thousand district-level Chhatra Dal leaders from across the country.

Without naming any party directly, Rahman also criticized Jamaat-e-Islami, saying that some individuals within a political organization were “selling various kinds of tickets” or offering different forms of “assurance” to people.

According to him, “Only Allah controls heaven, hell, and this world. If humans claim the authority to guarantee such matters, that amounts to shirk,” he said, urging Chhatra Dal leaders to explain this to people at the grassroots. He warned that both those who make such claims and those who accept them fall into acts of shirk from his perspective.

Earlier in the day, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir inaugurated the event. BNP’s senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi presided over the programme, while joint secretary general Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel conducted it. Several senior BNP figures—including Ismail Jobiullah, Nipun Roy Chowdhury, Aminul Haque, Mahdi Amin, and media cell representatives—were also in attendance.