Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud urged the countrymen on Friday to desert those who are trying to turn secular Bangladesh into a communal nation.
Hasan Mahmud, also ruling Awami League’s Joint General Secretary, was speaking at the inauguration of this year’s Chariot Festival organized by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) at Chattogram city’s Prabartak Intersection area.
Hasan said that festivals of many communities jointly form the Bangladeshi culture. The Chariot Festival is such a celebration. Father of The Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had created Bangladesh to free the people of this land from the poisonous air of communal hatred.
“Communal forces have tried repeatedly to damage the secular character of Bangladesh. Our government has always contained such forces with an iron hand. That’s why vested quarters couldn’t cause any damage during last year’s Durga Puja festival,” Hasan said.
Lamenting some opposition political parties, Hasan added that whenever the national election arrives, they start to spread the propaganda that the AL is a communal and anti-India party.
“Although these types of propaganda don’t work anymore,” Hasan added.
Read: Media should not publish unverified news: Hasan Mahmud
Mentioning the steps that the AL government has taken in recent years for the country’s Hindu community, Hasan said that the government has increased the allocation for Pujas and other Hindu festivals more than anyone has ever done.
He also said that more and more people from the Hindu community are getting government jobs nowadays, including in the police force, the army, the judiciary and the administration.
“The government has selected a Hindu as the Police Commissioner of Chattogram, which is the first of its kind in the country. Besides, the government had also chosen another Hindu person as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the recent past,” said Hasan.
Hasan also said that the current government under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina is working round-the-clock to ensure equal rights and opportunities for people of every faith.