Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain Bakul has issued a strong warning to the opposition, particularly Jamaat-e-Islami, stating that their provocations tempt him to label them as 1971 war criminals.
Sharing a bitter experience of being mocked in Pakistan for his identity as a freedom fighter, the minister urged the opposition to refrain from testing the government's patience.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday during a discussion on the motion of thanks for the President’s address, the Narsingdi-4 lawmaker recalled a 2004 trip to a SAFMA conference in Pakistan.
He recounted how a Pakistani lawmaker and an accompanying Jamaat-e-Islami MP ridiculed him upon learning he was a freedom fighter. "I can never forget that situation. We remain quiet for the greater economic interest of the country, but when they cross the limit, I feel like calling them Razakars, Al-Shams, and Al-Badr," he said.
The session was presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed and later by Deputy Speaker Kayser Kamal.
Asserting his credentials as a veteran who fought at the Belonia border, Bakul sharply criticized recent attempts to equate the 1971 Liberation War with the 2024 July uprising or to belittle the events of 1971.
He reminded the House of the war's atrocities, recalling the tragic plight of abused women held captive in a white house on Dhanmondi Road 2 after the country's independence.
While noting that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has called for national unity and formed a cross-party parliamentary committee to address the electricity crisis, the health minister firmly stated that unity would not be forged at the expense of core ideologies.
Praising Tarique Rahman's leadership, Bakul said the prime minister has already demonstrated a dynamic and different approach to governing the state.
He also highlighted the Zia family's historic political contributions, spanning the Declaration of Independence, the November 7 transition, the establishment of multi-party democracy, and the recent political shifts.
Addressing the July mass uprising, the minister compared the movement to a volcanic eruption, noting that it was the explosive result of years of pent-up public anger and resistance rather than a sudden event.
Concluding his speech, he advised the opposition not to exploit the government's tolerance with unnecessary provocations.
He warned that delivering divisive speeches in Parliament under the guise of unity is unacceptable, urging all political actors to exercise restraint for the sake of the nation's development, economy, and political stability.
