Rumeen Farhana's remarks were made addressing Awami League leader, not BNP

A video claiming to show a statement by Member of Parliament Rumeen Farhana directed at the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was circulated on the social media platform Facebook. However, Dismislab’s fact-check has found that Rumeen Farhana’s remarks were made two years ago to an Awami League leader.

A 31-second video was posted from a Facebook account named Nucleus BD. In the video, Barrister Rumeen Farhana, MP for Brahmanbaria-2, is heard saying, “Oh, stop it… step down from power, step down from power, see how many years you won’t see your home again. Just step down from power. Be quiet. You are such thieves, such corrupt people, such plunderers, that your necessities come from somewhere else. Listen, when you lose in an argument, you shout to stop the conversation. JICA gives loans, fine!! But when do people go to the IMF? When people reach the brink of bankruptcy.”

The post read, “Step down from power, you won’t see your home again — Rumeen Farhana to BNP!” In the video, the text “Debate Tonight” can be seen on the screen in the background. As of the publication of this report, the video had been viewed more than 57,000 times and shared more than 150 times. 

A relevant keyword search led to a video published on GTV News on February 19, 2024. It matches the recently circulated video exactly. In an episode of the 46-minute-30-second program “Debate Tonight,” published on GTV News’s verified YouTube channel, Rumeen Farhana is heard saying the same words at the 45-minute-30-second mark. At that time, the Bangladesh Awami League was in power. Rumeen Farhana made those remarks directed at Advocate ABM Riazul Kabir Kawsar, an Awami League leader who was present at that program.

In other words, Rumeen Farhana’s remarks — made in a television program while the Awami League was in power, directed at a leader of that party — are currently being circulated as a statement made against the present BNP-led government.

All social media captions, quotations, and news excerpts in this article have been translated into English from the languages in which they were originally posted or published.