Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Accusing the government of setting a trap for the people again to take part in a stage-managed national election, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday said no such plot will work this time as they have woken up to establish their voting rights.
Speaking at a discussion, he also alleged that Awami League cannot tolerate the dissidents as the party has a feudalistic characteristic.
“They (govt) are devising an evil plan to play games with the election and stage a farce so that they can get elected again. But the people of Bangladesh won’t fall into that trap anymore. You have been fooling people repeatedly, but you won’t succeed this time,” the BNP leader said.
Jatiya Gonotantrik Party (Jagpa) arranged the programme titled “No Alternative to Holding Election under a Non-Partisan Neutral Government to Establish Democracy” at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU).
Fakhrul said BNP wants the caretaker government system not to go to power, but to restore people’s voting and other rights. “We want every people to exercise their right and cast their own vote for whoever they want and thus an elected parliament will be formed.”
The BNP leader alleged that the government has been deceiving people as they think the citizens do not understand anything. “We’re coming out of this situation. We’re sacrificing lives. Already, we’ve sacrificed 17 lives while our several thousand leaders and activists have been arrested and jailed."
He called upon the people from all walks of life to rise further to intensify the current movement and realise their rights and force the government to accept the demand for holding the next election under a caretaker government.
“We have a very short time in our hands as they (govt) are conspiring to put on a show in the name of election to dodge the global community…they’re now not obstructing us from holding meeting like before. This is their trick,” the BNP leader observed.
Fakhrul slammed the ruling party for holding “peace rallies"’ on the days of BNP’s political programmes. “This peace rally reminds us of the peace committee formed by Pakistan in 1971 that killed and arrested our freedom fighters.”
The BNP leader said there are now many TV channels and newspapers in the country, but only a few talk about democracy and dissenting opinions.
“I see a terrible situation in Bangladesh. Awami League has spread fear in such a way that even those who used to speak are silent now. Many of them now don’t join talk shows and write in newspapers for fear of facing a case under the Digital Security Act,” Fakhrul observed.
He also said he felt so bad that the people have become so scared and coward, that they do not raise their voices against injustice, misdeeds, misrule and snatching of people’s rights.
“Why don't you speak when a person is openly killed on the street? Police entered the Supreme Court during the election and beat the lawyers and chased them away. Not a single person I saw said it was unfair. I did not see the so-called civil society members protest the incident," Fakhrul said.
He also regretted that the civil society members keep silent when BNP leaders and activists are beaten and killed on the streets as they do not consider them (BNP men) as human beings.
