Krishak Sramik Janata League President Bangabir Abdul Kader Siddique, a celebrated freedom fighter from Bangladesh’s War of Independence, on Friday launched a fierce attack on former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, accusing her of undermining the very values of the Liberation War.
“Sheikh Hasina was not a courageous leader. She did not respect any of Bangabandhu’s men. People relieved themselves on Bangabandhu’s sculpture because of Hasina. The [dignity of] Liberation War is in a state of ruins due to Hasina,” he said, speaking with the Daily Star, after offering prayers at his parents’ graves in Chatihati, accompanied by his brother Abdul Latif Siddique, recently released from jail.
Kader questioned Hasina’s decision to impose a lockdown and urged citizens to proclaim “Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu,” saying authorities should arrest him first if anyone is detained for using the slogan.
Hasina, hiding out in India, called on her party to lockdown Dhaka.
Kader is a prominent Bangladeshi politician and a celebrated veteran of the country’s Liberation War. As a Mukti Bahini commander and key organizer of the independence struggle, he led the Kaderia Bahini, a guerrilla force estimated at 17,000 fighters who carried out operations against the Pakistan Army in the Tangail region. His forces entered Dhaka alongside Indian troops at the end of the 1971 war, a moment that symbolized Bangladesh’s victory. For his wartime bravery, Siddique was awarded the Bir Uttom, one of the nation’s highest gallantry honors. In politics, he has remained an influential figure and, since 1999, has led the Krishak Sramik Janata League, the party he founded.