Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) Acting President Rashed Iqbal Khan on Thursday alleged that the government has started arresting the leaders and activists of their organisation as part of a move to thwart the opposition’s one-point movement.
He also accused the authorities of torturing their party activists and leaders after arrests.
Speaking at a press conference at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, he also alleged that the members of the Detective Brach (DB) of Police recently staged a drama “with a poorly drafted script” by showing six JCD leaders arrested with arms.
The JCD leader said Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said a few days back that BNP leaders and workers are gearing up for unleashing violence.
“Some over-enthusiastic law enforcers have become active to prove his (Quader’s) statement to be true. They staged a drama with a poor script by showing our six leaders arrested with arms."
He claimed that 20 JCD leaders were arrested just in four days from August 19-22 by the law enforcers.
Rashed alleged that the arrested Chhatra Dal leaders have been subjected to brutal torture while in custody. “As the movement for the restoration of democracy, voting rights of people and the freedom of expression intensifies the list of poorly-scripted dramas like arms recovery are getting longer."
“We’re not worried at all by the oppression, threats and various cooked-up stories of the illegal power grabbers and their cohorts. Our blood-soaked march for democracy will not be stopped by anything. It cannot be stopped as we will overcome all obstacles and move forward. Victory is inevitable for us,” he said.
The JCD leader alleged that Bangladesh Chhatra League, the ruling party’s student body has pushed the education system towards destruction by their uncontrolled misdeeds, including indulging in violence, anarchic activities and question paper leak, on the university campuses.
“Chhatra Dal has been pushed out of the campus from most of the educational institutions of the country so that Chhatra League can continue their misdeeds freely without any protest by the common students. There's no coexistence left on the university campuses,” he said.
Read: Shrabon removed from JCD president post; Rashed Iqbal made acting president
JCD General Secretary Saif Mahmud Jewel said that the list of arrests of Chhatra Dal leaders and workers across the country is getting longer gradually.
He said DB police picked up six JCD leaders and later showed them arrested with outdated weapons.
“It was a drama. We want to say unequivocally that the programmes of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal are very peaceful. You never saw our leaders and activists carrying arms during any protest movement.”
Saif claimed that those who showed arms on the Dhaka University Campus to obstruct JCD’s peaceful programme were not arrested or faced any action by the administration.
Read more: 4 JCD activists detained during protest against harassment of their female activist
“The Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal does politics of pens, not politics of arms. Lakhs of ordinary students gather on the streets on the call of Chhatra Dal. So, Chhatra Dal does not need weapons,” he added.