Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister and Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon yesterday said the country's independence did not come in a day rather it came through different movements including 1952 Language Movement, 1954 Jukta Front Election, 1969 Mass Upsurge led the country to independence, reports BSS. "1962's movement against Hamoodur Rahman Education Commission report was also an important one to lead the country towards Liberation War," he said.
The minister was addressing a discussion on "Role of communist rebels to Bangladesh Liberation War and democratic movements" on the premises of Workers Party Office on Topkhana Road. Chaired by Workers Party General Secretary Fazle Hossain Badsha, the discussion was addressed by Communist Party member Haider Akbar Khan Rono and Jatiya Party leader Mostafa Jamal Haider, among others. Menon said daily Ittefaq published an editorial in 1970 that wrote several pro-Peking people wanted to free East Pakistan. Following that Kazi Zafar Ahmed and he (Menon) were given six years imprisonment while Jamal Haider was given one year, he recalled.
The Workers Party president said they declared the programme for establishing an independent Peoples' Democratic Republic of Bangladesh on February 22, 1970 from a grand rally of students, workers and general masses at the historic Paltan Maidan.