BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday urged all political parties to build mutual understanding and stop the blame game, warning that continued mudslinging will only deepen bitterness and make politics toxic.

“Political parties must maintain mutual understanding. Without it, what we see now is mudslinging. There will always be some mudslinging in democracy—many harsh words may be exchanged—but there should be a limit. Otherwise, it creates bitterness, and over time, that bitterness makes politics even more toxic,” he said while speaking at a discussion.

The Jatiya Press Club organised the programme at its auditorium, marking the first anniversary of the July-August mass uprising.

Stating that the country is now going through a critical time, the BNP leader said it is a time for mutual understanding among political parties to move the country forward together.

“If we try to move forward together through mutual understanding, then it is the people who will benefit. They will get their representatives and a proper government. That doesn’t mean all problems will go away instantly, but a path will be opened—a path through which our voices and the concerns of the people can reach the government. That is the space we want to reach,” he said.

Despite all the challenges, Fakhrul said political parties have already reached a consensus on 12 fundamental issues.

“Efforts are ongoing to reach an agreement on the rest. Meetings are happening daily for several hours. There are many points we don’t yet understand—what they really want to do,” he said.

The BNP leader urged the National Consensus Commission to focus on the key unresolved issues and leave aside the complicated ones, to help create a way forward for holding the national election by mid-February next year as discussed between Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman in London.

“If that happens, I believe many of our doubts and confusions will start to clear, and we’ll be able to move towards a better place,” he said.

Fakhrul also expressed his disappointment that the interim government has not taken proper steps to support the families of those who were killed or injured during the mass uprising, or to ensure their rehabilitation over the past year.

“As I was listening to a sister speak today (about the pain of losing her husband during the mass uprising), a question crossed my mind—what really is the state? And who is it for? Those who are running the state—could they not find these people even after a whole year? Couldn’t they prepare a proper list and make arrangements to rehabilitate those who gave their lives, who shed their blood to bring change to this country?” he asked.

The BNP leader became emotional while speaking about a child who suffered a horrific injury—losing part of his skull—during the mass uprising."

“Yesterday (Tuesday), a little boy—he must have been six or seven—suddenly came up to me and hugged me. He said, ‘My skull is missing.’ What he meant was that his head had been hit by a bullet, and later, doctors had to replace part of his skull with a plastic one—an artificial skull. What sacrifice could be greater than that? Honestly, I sometimes get a bit emotional,” a dejected Fakhrul said.

“This is the price we’ve paid. And if we cannot honour that sacrifice properly—if we fail to do justice to them, to those children, to my sister, to the mothers—then without doubt, we will be committing a grave betrayal of this nation,” he added.

The BNP leader, however, expressed hope that the country would not go down that path. “I truly believe we can move forward towards a better and more beautiful Bangladesh.”