BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Friday said that attempts were being made to deliberately create an atmosphere of terror and instability for political gain, warning that the return of “defeated forces” would threaten everyone’s safety.

Speaking at a discussion marking the Nazrul Year, organised by the Natore District Council in the evening, Rizvi accused an unnamed political party of trying to spoil the environment by ‘instigating children’ – although it is most certainly in reference to the opposition alliance of Jamaat-e-Islami and NCP.

Referring to the political situation after August 5 (2024), he said, “You will have to pay the price for the political culture you have created since Aug 5.”

Rizvi said criticism of the government and its policies is part of democracy, but personal and “dirty” attacks are unacceptable and only create hatred in society.

“This is what Sheikh Hasina did. They have now fled,” he said.

He warned that efforts to artificially create violence and terrorism would not benefit anyone. “If the defeated forces return, no one will remain safe,” he said, adding that those trying to “fish in troubled waters” by creating a planned atmosphere of unrest could ultimately become victims of their own actions.

He also urged the opposition to abandon what he described as its “double standards.”

Among others, National Parliament Whip Ruhul Quddus Talukder Dulu, Natore District Council Administrator Rahim Newaz, Nazrul researcher Munshi Abu Saif and Golam Mostafa addressed the programme.