Ousted regime trying to destabilise country: Rizvi 

BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed on Saturday alleged that associates of the ousted authoritarian regime were trying to destabilise the country by blasting crude bombs following instructions from a neighbouring country.
 
He warned that people and government would resist any such attempts, accusing the group of using looted money to disrupt the country's democratic transition.

“Those involved in conspiracies will not be allowed to undermine the country's independence, sovereignty and democratic progress,” he said.

Rizvi made the remarks while speaking to journalists after paying tribute to BNP founder and former president Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia at their graves in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital on Saturday morning, marking National Revolution and Solidarity Day.

He later addressed a brief rally in front of the BNP's central office in Naya Paltan before the party's sovereignty procession, attended by BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Describing November 7 as a day of protecting the country's independence and sovereignty, Rizvi said it was also a day to safeguard personal freedom, civil liberties and freedom of movement.

He said soldiers and people had united under Ziaur Rahman's leadership on November 7, 1975, to protect the country's independence and sovereignty.

Recalling the political events of 1975, Rizvi said the establishment of Baksal on January 25 had taken away people's rights, while the country plunged into disorder after November 3. The November 7 revolution freed Ziaur Rahman and paved the way for multiparty democracy, he said.

Rizvi also recalled Khaleda Zia's nine-year struggle against autocracy, saying she helped restore democracy in 1990.
Criticising the Awami League government that came to power in 2009, he alleged that it had established a culture of enforced disappearances, killings and secret murders, keeping people under fear for 17 years. He said the spirit of November 7 also inspired the mass uprising of July-August 2024 that led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina.

Praising the current government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Rizvi said it was working for the people through initiatives such as free fertiliser distribution, Family Cards for farmers and poor families, and nationwide tree plantation programmes. 

He said nearly 1,000 kilometres of canals had been excavated over the past seven to eight months as part of the government's pledge to excavate 20,000 kilometres.

Rizvi called on students, the public and BNP leaders and activists to remain united against anti-democratic and anti-national forces.

Senior BNP leaders, including Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas, Salahuddin Ahmed, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Aman Ullah Aman, AZM Zahid Hossain and Farhad Halim Donar, attended the Naya Paltan rally.

Vice-Chairman Ahmed Azam Khan, Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni, Chairman's Adviser Abdus Salam, Joint Secretary General Khairul Kabir Khokon, Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel, Treasurer Rashiduzzaman Millat and Publicity Secretary Sultan Salahuddin Tuku attended the meeting.