Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday told the parliament that her government would not tolerate non-Islamic activities like arson attacks and vandalism in the name of Islam and vowed to take legal actions against those involved in such activities.
“I can only tell that legal action will be taken against those responsible for such misdeeds,” said the Leader of the House while delivering her valedictory speech in the 12th session of the 11th parliament.
The session was prorogued Sunday after three working days amid a massive surge in the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mentioning that the Hefazat-e-Islam started mayhem when the nation was set to celebrate the golden jubilee of the country’s independence from March 17 to 26, she said: “Did Hefajat do it alone? The BNP-Jamaat alliance is behind it.”
The prime minister said it is sure that all the Hefazat men were not involved in the mayhem.
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Hefazat men spread a rumour relating to the killing of people in the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque on March 26 and went on a rampage from March 26 to March 31, she added.
She said BNP and Jamaat gave separate messages supporting the Hefazat on March 27 and 28 which is part of the conspiracy against the state.
After calling the general strike, Hefazat, without any provocation, had carried out vandalism across the country, attacking Awami League offices, houses of the party leaders and activists and government offices.
Mentioning that Hefazat men even damaged the holy Quran, Hasina questioned what kind of Muslim they are.
The prime minister said the BNP and Jamaat have no political ideology as they supported Hefazat in protest against the arrival of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the golden jubilee celebration of independence but they welcomed Modi when he reached Bangladesh.
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Hefazat has been conducting destruction in the name of Islam while the BNP and Jamaat are giving them patronage, she said.
Referring to Hefajat’s Joint Secretary General Mamunul Haque’s stay with a woman at a private resort at Sonargaon, Narayanganj on Saturday, Hasina said that he went to a resort with a woman for entertainment after leading the mayhem.
She added that the Hefazat leader first introduced the woman with whom he was held as his wife and later he told his real wife (over the phone that was leaked last night) that he had to introduce the woman as wife due to the situation that arose at that time.
The prime minister called upon the Hefazat men to realize what kind of leadership they have.
Describing Islam as a religion of peace, stability and development, she said that words like militancy, terrorism and adultery have been added to Islam due to the misdeeds of some people.
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She said such kind of activities would not be acceptable in any way and her government would not tolerate anything which will lead to the destruction of Islam.
The premier, however, called upon the countrymen to have patience, saying: “I will say to the countrymen to have patience. We have to have patience.”
The people of the country will in no way accept non-Islamic activities in the name of Islam, she added.
She stated that as many as 116 countries, including the US, the UK, France, Canada, and Russia, and 33 international organizations, including the Organisation of Islamic Conference and the United Nations, gave felicitation messages marking the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of the country’s independence.
The prime minister described pouring messages in large numbers from abroad as a matter of pride for the countrymen and wondered why a group of people could not be happy about this.
