BNP on Thursday lashed out at ruling party leaders for their remarks that neither dialogue nor election is possible before five years, saying it is nothing but their pointless harping.
“From the government’s top level to some ministers are saying that both election and dialogue are not possible before five years. It’s nothing but their harping,” said BNP leader Asaduzzaman Ripon.
Addressing a press briefing at the Party’s Nayapaltan central office, he also said the harping of the ruling party leaders about the election is mockery with the spirit of the Liberation War and the country’s constitution.
Ripon, the BNP’s international affairs secretary, questioned how does the current regime which was formed with the mandate of less than 5 percent voters consider itself as the representative of the country’s people?
He alleged that those who have become ministers through a deceptive and farcical election are belittling and ignoring the hopes and aspirations of the country’s people and the calls of foreign friends for holding a free, fair and inclusive election through talks.
Ripon accused the government of unleashing terrorism across the country in the name of operation by joint forces after the election.
He said the government is killing the opposition leaders and activists and making them disappeared alongside brutally repressing and harassing them.
“The government has filed over a thousand false cases to subdue and harass the opposition leaders and activists. Over eight lakh people were made accused in the politically motivated cases,” the BNP leader added.
Ripon, also a former Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal President, said the senior BNP leaders are not getting bails due to the government’s influence on lower courts.
Referring to the denial of bail by a lower court to the top five BNP leaders, including Moudud Ahmed, MK Anwar and Rafiqul Islam Miah, he said they were surprised by the court order.
“The government has already launched inquiry into the judge who acquitted BNP senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman in a case. These incidents have given us an impression that the government is trying to block the door of justice for the opposition leaders and activists by exerting influence on the courts,” the BNP leader observed.
Claiming that the government is not allowing any institution, including the judiciary, to run independently, Ripon said the current regime is using the state machinery for making its narrow political gains.
He urged the government to shun its repressive acts and immediately hold an acceptable election with the participation of all parties through a meaningful dialogue.
“The country’s image in the international arena was dented seriously through the January 5 farcical election. So, come to the path of dialogue for a fresh and inclusive election, shunning the repressive acts to revive the country’s image,” the BNP leader urged the government.
Source: UNB Connect
