Left-leaning political activists on Sunday protested at distorting graffiti of freedom fighter and Maoist leader Sirajul Huq Sikder, better known as Siraj Sikder, on a wall at Dhaka University.
They demanded punishment for those involved in the incident along with their enablers in distorting the graffiti and engaging in disrespectful fascist activities.
They raised the demand at a protest rally, organised by Shaheed Biplobi O Desh Premik Smriti Sangsad, held in front of the Bangladesh National Museum at Shahbagh in the capital.
Presiding over the rally, the platform鈥檚 president, Hasan Fakri, described acts of distorting and throwing shoes at graffiti of the revolutionary leader as disrespectful fascist activities of reactionaries.聽聽聽
Fakri demanded punishment for those involved.
The platform鈥檚 general secretary, Tamiz Uddin, said that an extreme reactionary religious group was involved in erasing the graffiti of Siraj Sikder, who played a great role in founding Bangladesh during the War of Independence in 1971.
Progati Barman Tama, organising secretary of the Socialist Student Front, said that Siraj Sikder boldly stood against fascist rule of the Awami League and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and he was killed for opposing Mujib.聽聽聽聽聽聽
Masud Khan, president of the Jatiya Ganatantrik Ganamancha, said that it was not possible to erase Siraj Sikder.聽聽
Left leaders Jafor Khan, Nasir Uddin Ahmed, Samsuzzaman Milon, Abul Kalam, researcher Munir Morshed and Khanan editor Badol Shah Alom, among others, spoke at the rally.
A group of Dhaka University students early Saturday distorted and threw shoes at graffiti of Siraj Sikder on a wall at DU over a Facebook post of a left-leaning student leader.
Siraj was one of the organisers of the War of Independence in 1971 and a founder of Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party.
In 1975, he was killed in the custody of the Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini, an elite para-military force formed on February 8, 1972 by the government led by the country鈥檚 founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
