Some rising forces in the country pose a grave threat to democracy, religious freedom, and cultural diversity, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has alleged.
Speaking on Sunday at a discussion organised by the Diploma Engineers Association of Bangladesh in the capital, Rizvi said the emergence of such forces was “dangerous both for democracy and for people’s religious consciousness.”
He warned, “Here, people pray five times a day, they also watch dramas on television and listen to music – that is our cultural reality. But when everything becomes one-sided, fascism will rise,” adding that the ultimate form of fascism is the growth of extreme communalism and extreme religious politics.
On student union elections, Rizvi raised concern that “a deep blueprint” was being drawn by the state and university authorities to root out nationalist forces.
He alleged that ballot papers for DUCSU and JUCSU polls were printed in a private press instead of a government press.
“The owner of that press has close ties with a particular political party. Is this not irregularity?” he asked.
He said, the Dhaka University vice-chancellor introduced a code of conduct barring former students from entering campus, which he said was meant to silence opposition voices.
“University is not an isolated place. Lifelong aspirations are tied to it, and former students naturally remain connected,” he noted.
He said teachers at Jahangirnagar University resigned from duties in protest at irregularities, deepening public suspicion that state and administration were working together to manipulate the polls.
“Such efforts show attempts at monopolising student politics through collusion,” he further added.
