Govt politicising, controlling judiciary: BNP

BNP on Monday alleged that the government is controlling the judiciary through its politicisation for hanging onto power, reports UNB.

“Since it came to power in 2008, Awami League politicised the judiciary in a cunning way to ensure its absolute power. Now there’s no independence of the judiciary as it has been regulated by the government,” said BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

He also alleged that the ruling party has turned Bangladesh into a “failed state” with its efforts to establish one-party fascist rule by politicising the judiciary, the last resort of people for justice.

The BNP leader came up with the remarks at a press conference at BNP’s Naya Paltan central office protesting a Pabna court’s recent verdict sentencing nine BNP activists to death and jailing 25 others for life, for attacking a train carrying then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina in 1994.

Fakhrul said their party is always against any form of terrorism and it wants the proper trial of any such incident. “But Awami League is using such incidents for making political gains.”

He claimed that no one was injured in the train attack carried out around 25 years back during BNP’s rule, but BNP leaders almost at all levels have been implicated and convicted in the case filed over the incident. “This verdict is contrary to justice and politically motivated. We strongly condemn and protest it.”

The BNP leader alleged that the government is completing all the preparations for “deporting democracy” from Bangladesh forever to cement its power by destroying all the democratic institutions.

He said the Pabna court delivered the verdict in the case which was pending with the High Court.

Besides, Fakhrul said local Awami League leader Aminul Islam, who had been arrested from the spot and made the number one accused, was given only life term jail while nine BNP men were given capital punishment.

He said the current parliament is not elected as Awami League took the results of the 11th parliamentary election in its favour by force using the state machinery. “That’s why no state organ is now accountable to people and an anarchic situation has been created in all the institutions, including the judiciary.”

Fakhrul urged the government to hold a participatory and credible national election under a neutral administration annulling the results of the last general election to form an elected government and parliament.

BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed said though no one was killed in the Pabna incident, nine people were given death sentence. “We the lawyers never saw such a verdict in the past.”

He said the verdict exposed that the country’s judiciary has collapsed in absence of the rule of law.