Patwary’s ‘crude bomb’ remark sparks political backlash

National Citizen Party (NCP) Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary’s remark that “no more crude bombs will explode in Dhaka city” if the government accepts the 11-party alliance’s demands has triggered a political uproar, with BNP leaders demanding his arrest and interrogation over recent cocktail blasts.

Speaking at Navy Gate in the capital on Monday night after an NCP protest march against the fuel price hike, Patwary said the alliance was demanding implementation of the referendum verdict, state reforms and justice for the July genocide.

“If the government accepts our demands, no more crude bombs will explode in Dhaka city,” Patwary remarked. 

His comments have prompted demands for an impartial investigation into the recent cocktail explosions and arson attacks to establishments and transports. They demanded to investigate who are behind them, their political affiliations and the motives involved. The controversy comes amid a series of recent blasts in the capital, including explosions outside Jatrabari Police Station, the Supreme Court and elsewhere.

 Police have arrested several people in connection with some of the incidents, while investigations into the perpetrators and motives remain under way.

Patwary later clarified that his remarks were neither a threat nor an admission of responsibility. He maintained that implementation of the alliance’s demands would remove the scope for the Awami League to engage in subversive activities and sabotage, leaving its activists and supporters without an avenue to carry out such attacks.

The clarification, however, failed to ease the political backlash. BNP leaders and activists demanded Patwary’s arrest, portraying his remarks as evidence of a broader opposition strategy to create instability.

BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, speaking at a programme at the National Press Club on Tuesday, questioned whether the recently ousted Awami League alone was responsible for arson attacks on buses and trains and cocktail explosions across the country, or whether the present opposition was also involved.