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Political Assistant to the Prime Minister Rashed Khan
Rashed Khan, Political Assistant to the Prime Minister, has remarked that just as the National Citizen Party (NCP) has been excluded from the parliamentary opposition's proposed shadow government, it would similarly be sidelined from any actual administration should Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami ever assume state power.
He further alleged that Jamaat merely financed NCP candidates during the general elections in a calculated attempt to cleanse its historical culpability for the atrocities of 1971.
The Prime Minister's Political Assistant made these assertions on Wednesday (August 26) through a detailed statement published on his verified Facebook page.
In his social media post, Rashed Khan wrote:
"NCP is out of the opposition's shadow government! If Jamaat ever comes to power, the NCP will be cast out of the actual government in the exact same manner."
Rashed Khan argued that despite the NCP's lack of grassroots organizational capacity, Jamaat allocated seats and funded its election campaigns as a strategic maneuver to obscure the party's wartime legacy:
"Just as you cannot hide fish with spinach, Jamaat cannot wash away its accountability for the 1971 genocide through the NCP. As long as Jamaat exists, it will have to carry the burden of the 1971 genocide—just as the Awami League is forced into hiding bearing the responsibility for the 2024 genocide."
He suggested that establishing a shadow cabinet might provide psychological solace to Jamaat Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman and party leaders, who had anticipated electoral victory based on social media campaigns and preliminary opinion polls. Rashed Khan expressed hope that forming a shadow cabinet might temper the opposition's political rhetoric, mitigate grievances over failing to secure power, and encourage constructive alternative policy proposals for national reconstruction.
However, he issued a caution regarding the opposition's public statements:
"If figures like shadow home minister Hamidur Rahman Azad continue to propagate falsehoods and disinformation regarding enforced disappearances, the public will soon label this shadow government as a 'rumour government' and its members as 'rumour ministers'."
Highlighting gender representation, Rashed Khan noted that the shadow cabinet missed an opportunity to include prominent female figures who emerged during the post-August 5 uprising, specifically referencing Mardia Momtaz. He questioned whether Jamaat would ever appoint women to ministerial portfolios if elected to power.
Concluding his remarks, Rashed Khan claimed that Jamaat violated the July National Charter by failing to nominate female candidates directly, whereas the BNP initiated the charter's implementation prior to the elections by fielding female candidates and continues to uphold those commitments in state governance.
