Rashed Khan, political assistant to the prime minister, has called National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Nasiruddin Patwary a “ganja user” in a social media post.

He made the remark in a lengthy post on his verified Facebook account on Saturday (October 10), discussing the political legacy of slain leader Osman Hadi, the Dhaka-8 constituency and the positions of various political parties regarding Hadi.

In the post, Rashed Khan claimed that although Osman Hadi had disagreements with various political parties during his lifetime, some of them were now attempting to portray him as an ideological leader after his death. He questioned the roles of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP in this regard.

Rashed Khan wrote that the NCP had announced rickshaw puller Sujan as its candidate against Osman Hadi in Dhaka-8. He also claimed that Zubayer, personal assistant to the Jamaat ameer and president of the Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir’s BUET unit, had asked Hadi not to contest the seat, saying that Sadik Kayem would be Jamaat’s candidate there.

According to Rashed Khan, Osman Hadi had responded that he would contest the Dhaka-8 seat even if he received only 500 votes. He also referred to a Facebook post by Hadi’s brother, Omar Hadi, on the matter. Rashed Khan questioned whether Zubayer was currently in the country.

Criticising the political positions of Jamaat and the NCP, Rashed Khan claimed that Osman Hadi had accused the NCP of corruption, undermining the July uprising’s unity and attempting to monopolise the movement. He also said Hadi had described Jamaat as a “gupto” force, a term suggesting covert political activities.

Referring directly to Nasiruddin Patwary, Rashed Khan wrote: “We all respect Shaheed Osman Hadi. But when NCP’s ganja-using leader Nasiruddin Patwary says Hadi’s struggle was stronger than that of Ziaur Rahman, it becomes clear that Jamaat and the NCP have embarked on a campaign to make Osman Hadi controversial.”

He further alleged that Patwary had made the comment with the intention of provoking BNP leaders and activists into making disparaging remarks about Osman Hadi.

Rashed Khan urged leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its affiliated organisations not to get drawn into such controversies. He said Osman Hadi had embraced the anti-hegemonic politics of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman as his ideological inspiration and that attempts to pit Hadi against the BNP would not succeed.

Rashed Khan also expressed his views on Osman Hadi’s burial beside the grave of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. He said some remarks by Jabers and other leaders of Inqilab Mancha might have raised questions in some people’s minds about the burial. However, he said it was inappropriate to create controversy over the burial of a person who had been murdered.

At the end of his post, Rashed Khan said he had spoken by telephone with Osman Hadi’s elder brother that morning. According to Rashed Khan, Hadi’s brother said that Nur had spoken up at a time when others remained silent and that no statement should be made that would give political opponents an opportunity to create controversy around a deceased person.

Rashed Khan said he agreed with Hadi’s brother, adding that they would remember Osman Hadi throughout their lives and remain alert to attempts to use him as a political tool to create controversy.