Former Bangladesh captain and MP for Narail-2, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, has acknowledged his failure to meet people's expectations as a Member of Parliament for the ruling Awami League. The two-time MP and Whip of the 12th National Parliament also revealed his thoughts about the future. Moreover, he expressed no resentment or complaints regarding his house being burned down in Narail.

Mashrafe, known as the "Narail Express," remained silent during the quota reform movement, which eventually evolved into a one-point demand for the overthrow of the Sheikh Hasina-led government. This ultimately led to the fall of the government and the loss of Mashrafe's position. During that time, freedom of speech was restricted in Bangladesh, a sentiment that Mashrafe echoed with a touch of regret.

In an interview with BDNews24, Mashrafe said, "This pain will always remain, perhaps for a lifetime. It will always hurt me that I couldn’t stand by my country during a crisis moment, couldn’t do anything. It will stay with me forever. Not everything can be said at all times. Some things are just not meant to be spoken about. I have been silent all this time. Today, I’m saying a little, and maybe I’ll say more in the future. Many things will happen in life, but this pain will never go away. The disappointment with myself will always be there."

When asked why he remained silent, Mashrafe responded, "There’s no point in giving answers or explanations for these things now. If I speak plainly, then yes, I’ve completely failed to meet the expectations of many people. The quota reform movement was certainly justified. Even I felt that it would see success."

Mashrafe claimed that he had even wanted to engage in discussions with the students. He then explained that he was not given the opportunity to work on behalf of the students, stating, "I am not the captain of my party in the political arena, not even the vice-captain, nor someone of high rank. I’ve only been in politics for a few years. I tried from my position, did everything within my capacity, to create an avenue for dialogue with the students. But if you don’t get the opportunity, there’s nothing you can do. Perhaps if I were on the advisory council or held a similar position, I would have been given the responsibility. Even so, I tried my best, but I didn’t get the chance."

In response to why he didn’t resign at the time to stand with the students, Mashrafe said, "To do anything outside the party, I would have had to resign. If I had done that, I would certainly be praised now. But the reality of every moment is different. At that time, if I had resigned, I had to consider whether something bigger might happen or if the situation might worsen. There were many things I had to think about. If I were to reveal all my thoughts, there would be arguments both for and against. But I had to consider the possible consequences and many other factors."

Mashrafe added, "Maybe I could have posted a couple of statuses (on Facebook) and saved myself. Even then, some people would have criticized me, while others would have been pleased. But I tried to do something on a larger scale from my position. I couldn’t do that either. So, yes, I have definitely failed."

In the interview, Mashrafe also mentioned that he holds no grudge against the people of Narail for burning down his house. He sees it as a failure on his part.