Hasnat clarifies remarks over Brahmanbaria cultural programme controversy, apologises for ‘misunderstanding’

National Citizen Party (NCP) Chief Organizer and Cumilla-4 lawmaker Hasnat Abdullah on Saturday clarified his recent remarks on the controversy surrounding a cultural programme in Brahmanbaria.

He apologised to residents of the district for what he described as an unintended misunderstanding caused by his remarks in Parliament.

Hasnat said his parliamentary statement was intended to seek accountability from the Home Minister over the deterioration of the law and order situation.

In a statement posted on Facebook, he also clarified that madrasah students had not stopped the cultural programme but had only asked organizers to lower the volume as the sound was disrupting their studies late at night.

He was referring to a cultural programme organised by the Brahmanbaria district police on August 18 that was disrupted after madrasah students entered the venue and allegedly vandalised it, prompting police to baton-charge them and injuring at least 20 people.

“I apologise for the misunderstanding that arose with the people of Brahmanbaria over the statement I made in Parliament seeking accountability from the Home Minister for the deterioration of the law and order situation,” Hasnat said.

He said Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed had recently stated that singing, music and cinema were “almost prohibited” in Brahmanbaria.

“Through this statement, the Home Minister has in fact shifted the responsibility for his ministry’s failure onto the people of Brahmanbaria. He has also placed the blame on the [religious] scholars there and damaged their image before the world,” Hasnat said.

Referring to the August 18 incident, Hasnat said the event had been presented in the media in a way that differed from what had actually happened.

According to him, the programme was being held late at night and its loud sound was disrupting the studies of madrasah students preparing for examinations. He said the students only asked for the volume to be lowered.

“The subsequent incident took place following an argument between the police and the students over the matter. Several students were injured after being beaten with batons by the police,” he said.

Hasnat said the sequence of events showed that the students had not stopped the cultural programme, but had only asked for the sound to be lowered.

“This means that cultural activities are not prohibited in Brahmanbaria, as the Home Minister said,” he said, adding that the minister’s statement had sent a wrong message about the people of Brahmanbaria and belittled them.

Hasnat also acknowledged making a factual error when referring to the location of a boat race, saying he had mistakenly named Brahmanbaria instead of Sylhet.

“On the other hand, I made a factual error regarding the location of the boat race. I mistakenly said Brahmanbaria instead of Sylhet. I am embarrassed by the unintended misunderstanding caused by this error. I apologise for the unintended situation,” he said.

He said he should have explained in Parliament what had actually happened and how the media had framed the incident, but did not have the opportunity to do so in detail because of time constraints on the supplementary question.

What happened in Parliament

Hasnat’s statement came two days after Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed questioned the nature of a supplementary question raised by the Cumilla-4 MP, saying he could not understand whether it was a question or a political speech.

Responding to Hasnat’s supplementary question during the third session of Parliament on August 27, the home minister said, “Honourable speaker, I could not understand whether this was a question or a Paltan speech.”

In his supplementary question, Hasnat alleged that a situation had emerged in Brahmanbaria in which cultural activities were being stopped. He asked whether the Home Minister had succeeded in restoring law and order and establishing the rule of law over the previous six months.

In response, Salahuddin said whether the law and order situation had improved was visible. He said that after the government took office, suspects in various crimes had been arrested and brought under the law.

The minister also questioned the statistics on killings and injuries cited by Hasnat, saying he did not know what source those figures were based on.

Salahuddin said parliamentary discussions should be evidence-based. If law enforcement agencies had failed in a specific incident, MPs could raise the matter through a notice, allowing the issue to be discussed and debated in Parliament.

‘July represents a dream of a universal society’

Hasnat also reiterated that he and his party uphold the ideals of the 2024 July Uprising, which he described as a movement for equal rights and a society where no one imposes their views on others.

“This Bangladesh belongs to everyone – there will be mosques, temples, music, sermons, shrines, concerts, religious gatherings, processions and film festivals in this Bangladesh, as well as discussions by learned religious scholars,” he said.

“My Bangladesh is a meeting place for people of all religions and views. Everyone will go and participate in whatever they like, and those who do not like something will simply not go to it.

“We are trying to build that Bangladesh, and we will continue to make that effort,” he said.