BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed spoke at a prayer meeting organized by the ‘Ilias Ali Disappearance Prevention Committee’ at the BNP central office in Nayapaltan on Thursday. Photo: BSS

DHAKA, April 17, 2025 (BSS) - BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed today said that BNP leader Ilias Ali went missing because he organized a campaign protesting the construction of Tipaimukh Dam by India on the Sylhet frontier.

"The then rulers could not tolerate Ilias Ali. In other words, Ilias Ali was made invisible as a joint production of India and Awami League," he said in a prayer meeting at BNP's Nayapaltan central office here.

‘Ilias Ali Disappearance Prevention Committee’ organized this event in search of former BNP leader and organizing secretary M. Ilias Ali, who went missing during the Awami League government.

Rizvi said a few days before Ilias Ali's missing, the Indian government was going to build the Tipaimukh Dam on Surma Kushiara in Sylhet that sparked outrage across the country.

"Intellectuals were protesting, BNP had announced programmes. First, there was a long march programme. Ilias Ali had strongly protested against the construction of this dam. I believe that his patriotism and nationalist role are the reason why he went missing," he said.

Expressing his anger over the fact that Ilias Ali and other BNP leaders’ trace are yet to be found even after eight months of the interim government, this senior BNP leader said it has been eight months since the interim government took charge.

"What activities is the Commission on Enforced Disappearances doing? Where are Ilias Ali, Chowdhury Alam and others? What responsibility is the government taking to bring them back? We want the leaders who have been victim of enforced disappearance back quickly," he said.

Expressing anger over the fact that the political cases filed against BNP leaders and activists have not yet been withdrawn, Rizvi said there are still six million cases against BNP leaders and activists.

"The interim government could have withdrawn these cases. But that has not been done," he said questioned why do BNP activists still have to roam the balconies of the court even after the ouster of AL regime.

"We acknowledge the contribution of anti-discrimination students. We respect them. But if it is the case that the administration runs on their words, all government activities will be carried out, it is called anarchy. Why would there be this anarchy? The DCs-SPs said, the anti-discrimination students here have said, this cannot be done. Then why public administration?' he said.

Mentioning that there is confusion among the people over various incidents, he said, "The fascist allies are present at various levels of the administration and the government has not taken any action against them. But we have come to know that as soon as they smell BNP, they are immediately removed from the administration. Does that mean this government is running through a special agenda? This is the big question for the people today. There is confusion among the people regarding this”.

BNP Chairperson's Advisor Abul Khair Bhuiyan, Swechchhasebak Dal Secretary Sarafat Ali and Ilias Ali's wife Tahsina Rushdir Luna also spoke at the prayer meeting.