BNP leaders said Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman did not declare independence on March 7 at the racecourse ground. "The declaration of independence and speech are not the same thing," they said. On that day, the whole nation, the freedom-loving people, eagerly waited for the declaration of independence, but it was not given. Instead, the West Pakistani rulers were urged to sit down, discuss and hand over power.
However, in the context of that time, the speech of the Awami League as the majority party was reasonable. The BNP leaders made this demand in a discussion meeting at the National Press Club on Sunday. The BNP organized the meeting on March 7 as part of its Independence Day celebrations. However, there was no mention of Bangabandhu's speech even though the banner mentioned the discussion meeting on March 7. BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, "The Awami League is very deliberately depriving the new generation of history and teaching them false history."
All their efforts are to glorify one person, one family and one group. He said, "You will not find Tofail Ahmed anywhere in the speech of Awami League. They never once mentioned the founding president of the Awami League, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani. He did not even mention the name of the warlord MAG Osmani. And Tajuddin Ahmed, who led the wartime government, does not even mention his name. Mirza Fakhrul said, ‘March 7 is one day, March 26 is another day.
But for a long time now, the people of this country have been fighting for their rights. It is not the contribution of any single person. Independence of the whole country. Thousands of young people, youth, farmers, students have given their lives for this freedom. Our mothers and sisters have lost their dignity in this freedom. The BNP secretary general said, "Struggle and war are not one. So it is necessary to utter the words of Sher-e-Bangla, the words of Suhrawardy, the words of Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, the words of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the words of Oli Ahad.
There are countless people like this who have fought for the welfare of the people of this country. And Ziaur Rahman's announcement inspired people to fight. In the speech of the president, BNP standing committee member Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said, ‘The speech on March 7 is definitely historic. Because this speech overwhelmed the people and it had some instructions to unite the people.
But on that day, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman said, power must be handed over to the people's representatives. He said this as part of negotiations with the then government of Pakistan. Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas said, "On March 7, we took bamboo and sticks. An announcement will come. But no announcement came. The people of this country have liberated the country with blood.
If anyone says that Zia's speech did not bring freedom to the country, then we can also say that the March 7 speech did not bring freedom to the country. Standing Committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said, ‘March 7 speech is one of the many milestones of the war of independence. But the other milestones of the liberation war are covered with dust.
They are breaking down. Those milestones need to be dusted off and reformed. Standing Committee member Iqbal Hassan Mahmud Tuku said, ‘We are excited about the March 7 speech. But that speech did not declare independence.
He said, "Tajuddin signed the press note issued by the Awami League the day after March 7. It was said that this speech (March 7 speech) was given to realize the rights of Bengalis, to bring the majority party to power.
That is not the declaration of independence, it is understood in the press note of the Awami League. Standing committee member Selima Rahman also addressed the meeting. Although there was a name on the banner, BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy was not present. Abdul Moin Khan and Nazrul Islam Khan. Among the guests were former BNP central leader Zahiruddin Swapan, Fazlul Haque Milon, Barrister Rumin Farhana MP, Sports Secretary Aminul Haque, Abdus Salam Azad, Shahidul Islam Babul, Amirul Islam Khan Alim and others.