If BNP comes to power, the spirit of 1971 will vanish: Obaidul Quader MP

Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Wednesday said that if BNP gets power again, there will be no spirit of Liberation War in the country.

"We cannot hand over power to BNP, which is the patron of communal forces and militancy," he said.

He made the remarks while joining a discussion meeting organised in the city by Dhaka Metropolitan South Awami League unit to commemorate the 'Homecoming Day' of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman after Bangladesh gained victory over Pakistan in 1971. Bangabandhu returned to Dhaka via London and New Delhi on 10 January in 1972 after being freed from jail in Pakistan.

Quader said that another name for Bangladesh is Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Bangabandhu will remain as long as this land exists, he added.

Pointing to BNP's mass sit-in programme on Wednesday, he bitterly criticised the opposition party and said 54 parties have joined hands against Sheikh Hasina.

"(But) What will the 54 parties do? They can't do anything," he said.

Criticising local media, Quader said he could not stay at home even for 50 days during the BNP regime.

"(Now) Two BNP leaders had been in jail for 26 days. Some media outlets are writing in a way as if they had been in jail for 26 thousand years," he said.

Quader said there will be a game "against corruption, looting and misrule" of BNP.

He said that Hasina has "repaired what the BNP had destroyed while in power."

"Sheikh Hasina inaugurated hundreds of bridges and hundreds of roads in one day. Sheikh Hasina can, only Sheikh Hasina can. Let us strengthen her hands," he said.

Dhaka Metropolitan South Awami League General Secretary Humayun Kabir presided over the meeting.