DHAKA, June 23, 2024 (BSS) – Senior politicians leading different political parties have greeted Awami League appreciating its founding principles and historic role, expecting it to adhere to those core values as the party celebrates today the platinum jubilee.

  “AL had emerged as a non-communal nationalist party. In different stages, its leaders and activists led Language Movement, nationalist movement, the Liberation War and the movement for autonomy and created a glorious history from the frontline,” Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASOD) President Hasanul Haq Inu told BSS on the occasion.

   He said under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Awami League leaders and activists established a “nation state” in independent Bangladesh and presented the countrymen a constitution.

   “I wish Awami League to be imbued with the spirit of its past successes. I expect it to keep its due role in the current situation and go ahead. My good wishes for Awami League,” Inu said.

   Workers Party of Bangladesh President Rashed Khan Menon said AL was founded in 1949 as a non-communal democratic political party to establish democracy against the autocratic ruling of the then Pakistan’s Muslim League.

   Though it emerged as Awami Muslim League, it was later renamed as Awami League to manifest its non-communal spirit, he added.

   “Since the Pakistan period, we witnessed AL waging movements to establish people’s democratic rights like right to voting and equity,” Menon said.

   The left-leaning senior politician said 75 years after it was born Awami League is now leading the nation in the independent country in a new context.

   “We expect them (AL) to govern the state based on their commitment, that they made during the party’s emergence with the spirit of non-communalism and democracy guiding its path,” Menon said.

   He, however, said off late a social discrimination is being observed in the country contradicting the Liberation War spirit and the four founding principles of the country which were set in 1971.  

   Jatiya Party (JP) President Anwar Hossain Manju and Secretary General Sheikh Shahidul Islam issued a joint statement greeting AL President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and all party leaders, activists and well wishers on the occasion of the ruling party’s platinum jubilee.

   “AL is one of the oldest organisations in the country. The independent sovereign Bangladesh was born following the country’s Liberation War under the leadership of AL led by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,” the statement read.

It said all the movements in this country since 1949, especially the Language Movement of 1952, the anti-military rule movement against Ayub Khan in 1958, the six-point movement of 1946, the mass movement of 1962, the mass uprising of 1969 and the great Liberation War of 1971, were organised under the leadership of Awami League.

Noting that numerous leaders and activists of AL embraced martyrdom and many of them were jailed and made sacrifices during these movements, the statement said Bangabandhu himself had to suffer 14 years of imprisonment and face death sentence twice. 

On the occasion of AL’s platinum jubilee, they recalled AL founding president Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, AL leader Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy, AL former president Maulana Abdur Rashid Tarkabagish and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

“We wish AL continued success on the occasion of its 75th founding anniversary. We hope that as like in the past, it will lead the nation in the future to build a developed Bangladesh and ensure economic emancipation of the people”, they said. 

General Secretary of Bangladesh Samyabadi Dal Dilip Barua recalled AL’s glorious roles in the country’s all democratic movements and said AL was intensively involved in the country’s all major movements. 

From the Language Movement to the Liberation War, AL led many historic movements with their all-out efforts,” he said. 

“We now expect a non-communal democratic Bangladesh from them (AL),” Barua said.