AL-HEFAZAT TIE Allies not happy [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

AL-HEFAZAT TIE Allies not happy

Local April 22, 2017

Parties in the ruling Awami League-led alliance consider Awami League’s compromise with Hefazat-e-Islam as a backward step for democratic politics and they would not accept it.
Talking to New Age, top leaders of Workers Party of Bangladesh, factions of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Jatiya Party faction, Ganatantri Party and Communist Kendra said that Awami League was deepening its relationship with Hefazat, paying heed to Hehazat’s demands to drop secular writings from textbooks and to remove a sculpture from Supreme Court premises, keeping politics of vote in mind.
In early 2017, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board dropped several essays and poems of secular writers from secondary-level textbooks as demanded by Hefazat, the qoumi madrassah-based Islamist group.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, also the alliance chief, on April 11 agreed with Hefazat that the statue of Greek goddess Themis on the Supreme Court premises should be removed.
She said, ‘To speak the truth, I don’t like it. It’s a Greek statue, but how will a Greek statue get here? Moreover, the Greek goddess has been adorned with a sari. That too is ridiculous.’
At a meeting with leaders of Qoumi madrassahs at Ganabhaban, Hasina also announced the recognition of certificates of Dawra-e-Hadith under Qoumi Madrassah Education Board as equivalent to master’s degree in Islamic Studies and Arabic.
Workers Party of Bangladesh general secretary Fazle Hossain Badsha said that the compromise of the government with communal force Hefazat would not be acceptable.
‘It will bring serious consequence for the democratic politics in the country. Our party politburo has opposed the government moves and called on the government to refrain from the moves,’ Badsha said.
The party politburo in a statement on April 19 would create more barriers to development of Bangladesh into a secular and democratic state.
In a statement, party politburo condemned the government recognition to Dawra-e-Hadith as a master’s degree bowing down to the demand of Hefazat.
They said that the recognition of qoumi madrassah certificate and incorporation of many things in the textbooks as per the demands of Hefazat would ultimately hamper the progress in the introduction of a secular education system.
Jatiya Party faction led by Anwar Hossain Monju
secretary general Sheikh Shahidul Islam said that Awami League leaders were saying that the government was paying heed to the demands of Hefazat not the Awami League.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal faction general secretary Shirin Akhter said that her party would not accept any compromise with Hefazat.
She termed Hefazat a communal and extremist force which was against the constitution of the country and also against the women development policy.
She called on all the progressive and non-communal political forces to be united against the compromise with Hefazat.
Another JSD faction president Sharif Nurul Ambia considered the government’s compromise with Hefazat as a backward step for democratic politics.
Ganatantri Party presidium member Nurur Rahman Selim and Communist Kendra joint convener Asit Baron Roy also said that they would not accept any compromise with Hefazat.