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Hours after criticising the removal of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s portrait from Bangabhaban, Bangladesh Nationalist Party senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Tuesday begged apology.

Rizvi withdrew his remarks in a statement signed by BNP assistant office secretary Muhammad Munir Hossain.

The statement said that Rizvi thought that Sheikh Mujib’s picture had been removed from the Durbar Hall of Bangabhaban where all the presidents’ pictures are kept. The picture was actually removed from another place of the hall.

‘Under Sheikh Hasina’s fascist rule, a law has been made mandatory to keep Sheikh Mujib’s picture. Fascist laws cannot have any effectiveness. Signs of misrule should not be kept everywhere in offices and courts. I am sorry for the unwanted remarks,’ Rizvi said.

Earlier on the day, while inaugurating a free medical camp and blood donation programme at the BNP’s Naya Paltan central office, Rizvi described the move of removing Sheikh Mujib’s photo as an inappropriate action.

The event was organised by the party to commemorate National Revolution and Solidarity

Day, which marks the civil-military uprising of November 7, 1975.

‘After August 15, 1975, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad removed the portrait of Sheikh Mujib from Bangabhaban, but Ziaur Rahman [BNP founder] later reinstated it,’ Rizvi said.

Rizvi referred to a statement by Mahfuj Alam, an adviser in the interim government, who announced that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s portrait had been removed from Bangabhaban.

‘You may have done it, but time does not always pass in the same way. Everyone’s contributions should be properly acknowledged. So, I believe his [Mujib’s] photo should have not been taken down,’ Rizvi added.

Rizvi also said that history will ultimately judge the contributions of individuals to national life, and it should be the responsibility of the people to assess and weigh the contributions and misdeeds of a person.

‘As we are not as narrow-minded as the Awami League, we believe Sheikh Mujib’s portrait should not have been removed from Bangabhaban,’ the BNP leader stated.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Mahfuj Alam wrote: ‘The photo of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman—post ‘71 Fascist—has been removed from the Darbar Hall. It is a shame that we couldn’t remove his pictures from Bangabhaban after the 5th of August.’