BNP Senior Joint Secretary General and the prime minister’s political adviser Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed warned that continued division and polarization could encourage Sheikh Hasina to seek a return to Bangladesh. Speaking on Monday at Bangladesh Medical University auditorium in the capital, he addressed the remarks to Jamaat-e-Islami during a discussion and documentary screening titled “Nurses’ Contribution in the Blood-Soaked July.”

Rizvi said the July revolution had a philosophical foundation tied to civil liberty, freedom of speech and the assurance of living without fear. He described the July mass uprising as the final expression of a 17-year blood-soaked movement, saying hundreds of leaders and activists from Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, BNP and affiliated organizations had died. He alleged that Sheikh Hasina had used the state apparatus to shut down politics and civil rights.

He called on those entering politics to improve political culture and stop spreading hatred and division, saying otherwise the fall of authoritarianism would be rendered meaningless. Rizvi said BNP had supported the quota reform movement, complete shutdown and Bangla Blockade programs from the outset. He praised nurses for assisting injured people during the uprising and said the current government was working on health-sector reform and nurses’ professional development.