Jatiya Party Secretary General Mashiur Rahman Ranga must apologise for slandering pro-democratic activist Noor Hossain as a drug addict, the Awami League-led 14-party alliance said.
The leaders of the alliance said on Tuesday (Nov 12) that Noor Hossain is a symbol of democracy and Ranga must apologise for his comments.
On Sunday (Nov 10), Ranga termed Noor Hossain---- the young pro-democracy activist whose death sparked an uprising that toppled his party founder HM Ershad's autocratic regime, as “a drug-addict, hooked on yaba, phensedyl,"
His comments drew flak from several quarters, with senior Cabinet member Obaidul Quader saying on Tuesday that “people will not forgive those who slander Noor Hossain.”
The minister’s comments came hours after Ranga issued an apology to Noor Hossain’s family saying, "the words 'yaba-addict' and phensedyl-addict' were slip of tongue. I retract those words and I apologise to the family."
He however, maintained that Noor Hossain, who was shot dead by police near Zero Point in Dhaka, on Nov 10 1987, during demonstrations against the regime of the then military ruler Ershad, was “mentally stable.”
The 26-year-old, back then took to the streets with the slogan 'Down with autocracy, free democracy' inscribed on his chest and back.
Saying that he specifically apologised for his comments about the drug, the Jatiya party leader maintained that “a mentally stable person would not have inscribed slogans on his chest.”