‘Shameless surrender to religious fanatics’: Sammilita Sangskritik Jote

Cultural platform Sammilita Sangskritik Jote President Golam Kuddus today said the removal of removal of the sculpture of Lady Justice from the Supreme Court premises is a “shameless surrender to the fundamentalist forces”.

“We fought in 1971 to build a non-communal nation. But removal of the sculpture is a shameless surrender to the fundamentalists,” he said while addressing a protest rally at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka protesting removal of the sculpture.

READ MORE: Cops silence protest over statue removal

He also called for a nationwide protest rally on June 3.

Noted cultural personality Nasir Uddin Yousuf said that the government removed the sculpture to get support from Hefajat-e Islam. “It is totally unexpected from the ruling government.”

READ MORE: It's surrender to Islamist evil forces

Renowned actor and film director Hasan Imam said, “It’s not just the removal of sculpture. It’s the removal of ideology.”

He urged the government to reinstall the sculpture on the Supreme Court premises immediately.

In another rally at Shahbagh, protesters demanded immediate release of the four persons who were detained yesterday during the demonstration protesting removal of the sculpture.

READ MORE: Removal of Lady Justice's statue sparks protests

The protesters under the banner of ‘Chhatra Janatar Protibad’ will march towards to home ministry on June 1 protesting the arrest and cases filed against the people who agitated protesting the removal of the sculpture including Bangladesh Chhatra Union General Secretary Liton Nandi.

They also announced to go for tougher movement across the country if their demand is not met.

Speaking at the occasion, Chhatra Union’s former president Manabendra Deb said, “Hindu- Buddha-Christians are no longer the minorities in Bangladesh now, but people who believe in the spirit of Liberation War and protest to uphold it are the real minorities here.”

He added, “When Shyamol Kanti [a Narayanganj teacher who was humiliated in public and faced bribe case later on] was harassed, the whole nation felt harassed. Now as both he [Shymol] and Liton Nandi are in jail, the whole nation is in jail.”