Local people staged a protest in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira on Wednesday, demanding the removal of Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Gazi Nazrul Islam over a viral video that has triggered controversy on social media.
The protesters under the banner of Shyamnagar Sachetan Nagorik brought out a procession around noon. The march passed through the main roads of the upazila before ending at the Shyamnagar Press Club premises, where a rally was held.
Later, the protesters burned an effigy of the Satkhira-4 MP.
At the rally, speakers alleged that Gazi Nazrul Islam had lost the moral standing to represent the constituency and called on Jamaat-e-Islami to remove him from both the party and parliament.
They also declared him “persona non grata” in Shyamnagar, claiming that the controversy had damaged the reputation of the area.
The protesters urged the party leadership to take organisational action against the lawmaker.
The demonstration came after a video surfaced on social media on Monday night, allegedly showing the lawmaker in an intimate situation with a woman inside a room.
The speakers said the circulating video had raised questions and generated public debate.
They claimed that the video was initially described as being generated using artificial intelligence (AI), but later the woman seen in the footage was identified as the lawmaker’s second wife.
They said conflicting statements surrounding the matter had intensified the controversy.
Amid the criticism, Gazi Nazrul Islam said in a Facebook post that the woman seen in the video was his second wife.
However, the statement itself has drawn further public attention and debate.
Gazi Nazrul Islam’s response to the allegations was not immediately available.
The rally was chaired by former joint convener of Shyamnagar upazila BNP Alhaj Solaiman Kabir. Among those who addressed the gathering were district BNP member Advocate Ashek Elahi Munna, district Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal president Nur Jahan Parvin Jharna, Shyamnagar BNP vice-president and union parishad chairman Masudul Alam, Abu Saeed, chairman Amjad Hossain, and Jubo Dal convener Shafiqul Islam Dulu.
