Wednesday, April 17, 2024
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said the outline of the “simultaneous” movement to oust the government will be presented soon.
"We'll come up before the nation with the final outline of the simultaneous movement as soon as possible," he said.
Speaking at a press conference at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, the BNP leader also said their party has long been working to forge a greater unity with various political parties.
“Following the talks with the different parties, our (BNP) standing committee meeting yesterday (Monday) decided to finalise the outline of the simultaneous movement,” the BNP leader said.
Asked about the nature of the outline, he said the main focus will be on forcing the government to quit for holding a free, fair and acceptable election. “This parliament must be dissolved and power has to be handed over to a neutral government under which a new Election Commission will be constituted, and they’ll create an environment for an inclusive election where all the voters can cast their votes smoothly.”
Besides, Fakhrul said a national government will be formed after that election with the parties that are going to join the simultaneous movement.
About the necessity of the national government, he said it would not be reasonable to repair alone by a single party the damage done by the Awami League to the state system.
“For that reason, we want to include other parties in this process so that we can take decisions based on consensus through discussions about various institutions of the state such as the judiciary, administration, parliament and the media,” the BNP secretary general observed.
He called upon all opposition parties to join BNP’s planned simultaneous movement to oust the current regime and ensure a credible national election in the country.
The BNP leader said that if the political parties take to the streets simultaneously, the movement itself will determine its future course of action.
No formal talks with Jatiya Party
Responding to a question, Fakhrul said they have not had so far, any formal talks with the Jatiya Party about the simultaneous anti-government movement.
He, however, said their door is open for any party that wants to join the movement. “We have made it clear that we will wage the movement simultaneously with the parties, individuals and organisations those are against the current authoritarian government and those want to restore democracy and people’s voting rights."
Asked whether BNP had a discussion with Jamaat-e-Islami and about its statement on not being part of the 20-party alliance, Fakhrul said Jamaat has already given a statement on the matter. “We're talking about simultaneous movement now…All parties will carry out the movement from their respective positions. This is what we're talking about."
Police not BNP's opponent
Fakhrul said their party wants the police to perform its constitutional responsibilities as a state organisation. “We never consider the police as our opponent. The police should be friends of the people and we also consider them as friends.”
He, however, alleged that the government is using police to hang onto power illegally by violating the constitution and human rights.
The BNP leader urged the law enforcers not to comply with the government's illegal directives that could lead to accusations of human rights violations against them like RAB.
Fakhrul alleged that some overenthusiastic police officers are attacking BNP’s programmes across the country and firing on the opposition leaders and activists without any justification.
Extension of rental power plants’ tenure unjustified
The BNP leader said when the Power Development Board is not able to produce power from many power plants due to lack of energy and the government is giving subsidies of hundreds of crores of taka without getting any power, the tenure of four quick rental power plants has been extended. “It’ll only increase the number of losses. We demand cancellation of this decision of the government."
He said the main reason behind the move is to plunder public money in the name of capacity charges of the four power plants.
Fakhrul also slammed the government for increasing the prices of some essential drugs used in health care. “We strongly condemn it. The prices of the medicines have been hiked unethically only to create a scope for some businessmen to make a lofty profit. We demand immediate withdrawal of this decision.”
