July Uprising Martyrs Did Not Give Their Lives for Any Group's Agenda: Workers Party

PNN News Desk, Narayanganj

Revolutionary Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque has said the martyrs of the July-August mass uprising sacrificed their lives with the dream of establishing a discrimination-free, democratic and humane society. He said they did not give their lives to serve the narrow interests of any particular political force or group.

He made the remarks while speaking at a Martyrs' Memorial Rally organized by the Revolutionary Workers Party at the Chashara Central Shaheed Minar in Narayanganj on Friday (August 7) afternoon.

Saiful Haque said the 2024 mass uprising was an unprecedented event in the country's history. No individual, party or group has the right to claim sole ownership of the movement. He said those attempting to establish ownership of the mass uprising and "patent" it as their own have failed to uphold its core spirit.

At the rally, he also expressed concern over the country's current socioeconomic situation. Saiful Haque said economic and social inequality had increased rather than decreased over the past two years. The pressure of job losses and unemployment was also increasing. The security of ordinary people's lives and livelihoods had still not been ensured.

He expressed frustration that although a new pay structure had been implemented for government officials and employees, a national minimum wage board had still not been formed for workers. He alleged that the country's gas and electricity crisis had intensified because of an energy policy dependent on foreign sources.

Criticizing India's policy toward Bangladesh, Saiful Haque said that although the 2024 mass uprising exposed major failures in India's policy toward Bangladesh, the country's policymakers had not learned the necessary lessons from it. He claimed that while the Indian government spoke of friendly relations on the one hand, it was using the "Hasina card" on the other to keep Bangladesh under pressure.

At the rally, Political Council member Banishikha Jamali said that although six months had passed since the elected government assumed office, the lives of ordinary people, particularly the safety of women, had still not been ensured. She also alleged that various activities against women's rights and dignity continued.

Another Political Council member, Akbar Khan, said the BNP must uphold the expectations and aspirations of the people who participated in the mass uprising.

Chief speaker Abu Hasan Tipu said workers and working-class people had participated extensively in the 2024 mass uprising and many of them had been killed. However, he claimed that they were now facing the greatest deprivation and oppression.

In his presidential address, Mahmud Hossain, president of the Narayanganj district committee of the Revolutionary Workers Party, said people from different social and professional backgrounds had made sacrifices during the mass uprising, but over the past two years only a small group of people had benefited from the movement. He said his party would continue its movement and struggle until people's rights, justice and freedom were ensured.

Other speakers at the rally included central committee members Rashida Begum and Saiful Islam, Munshiganj district committee secretary Sheikh Mohammad Shimul, Mir Rezaul Alam, Master Anisur Rahman, general secretary of the Inland Water Transport Workers Federation, and leaders from various levels of the party.

At the beginning of the rally, tribute was paid to the memories of all the martyrs, including the two martyrs of the Revolutionary Workers Party in Narayanganj, Badiuzzaman and Abdul Latif, who were killed during the July mass uprising. The leaders and activists present then observed a one-minute silence in their memory.