No gains from stoking labour unrest for political advantage: Rizvi

BNP acting secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has said no one will benefit from trying to secure political advantage by stoking tensions over garment workers’ protests. He alleged that violence was being incited under cover of the movement to manufacture a crisis.

He made the remarks at a press conference on Friday (06 November), organised ahead of National Revolution and Solidarity Day.

Rizvi said workers’ protests for their legitimate demands were not the same as vandalising factories, setting vehicles on fire or attacking police boxes. He alleged that some groups were using workers’ demands as a pretext to destabilise the situation.

Addressing opposition parties, he said they should refrain from heightening tensions and trying to gain political advantage from a murky situation. He warned that if the unrest spread, it could also affect the political parties concerned.

The BNP leader also claimed that opposition parties’ expressions of solidarity with the labour movement had a “covert connection with fascist forces”. Accusing Jubo League and Chhatra League of inciting violence, he said some factory owners linked to the Awami League were also involved in creating unrest. He further alleged that incitement was coming from a neighbouring country.

Asked about Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s recent concerns over possible unrest in the garment industry, Rizvi said the prime minister received information from various sources. He said recent events appeared to reflect some of those concerns.

Rizvi claimed that the government had worked sincerely to address workers’ difficulties and taken steps towards a solution. He said the violence that had occurred despite those efforts needed to be considered in its political context.

At the press conference, Rizvi also outlined programmes for National Revolution and Solidarity Day. He said processions would take place on Saturday in the capital and most districts and metropolitan cities across the country. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to pay tribute at the graves of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia at 8:30am, after which he is expected to inaugurate the procession from the party’s central office.