Criticising the search committee for the next Election Commission will harm the BNP itself, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has said.
He made the comment on Thursday, the day after a six-member panel formed by the president drew immediate criticism from the BNP.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said he doubted that the members, ‘close to the government’, could form an acceptable Election Commission.
“The BNP opposes everything we do,” said Tofail, a senior Awami League leader, after a meeting with Japanese Ambassador Masato Watanabe at the Secretariat.
“But the party’s leaders said they were satisfied after their meeting with the president and even welcomed his initiatives.”
“The president formed the committee with neutral members after holding meetings with all parties. I believe it is a neutral search body.”
The minister said he was confident that the party, which sat out the 2014 parliamentary election, would participate when the next election is held under the Election Commission to be formed through the search committee.
“One thing could be done, if the BNP had provided a list for the search committee and the president had approved it, they would have been happy. But it would not be a realistic move,” Tofail said.
The Awami League Advisory Council member refuted the allegations brought by the BNP secretary general that the ruling party wants the next election to be like that of Jan 5, 2014.
He pointed out that it was BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia who had not responded to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s call for talks before the 2014 elections.
“She even closed the door when the prime minister went to see her (Khaleda) after the death of her son,” he said.
“The BNP doesn’t speak about the damage it suffered due to closing the door, not responding to our call, and not taking part in the polls, but they know it inside.”
“They will suffer damage if they do not take part in the election. And will it be right for them to take part in the election after making it controversial?” he added.
Speaking about the meeting with Watanabe, the commerce minister recalled the July 1, 2016 cafe attack in which seven Japanese nationals were killed.
“We expressed sorrow for that. Now the situation is totally normal…peaceful than any time in the past,” he said.
He also said Japan will be given a Special Economic Zone along with the other countries investing in Bangladesh.
“The Japanese investors also expressed eagerness to invest in Bangladesh. We will provide them with various facilities. Japan has also given us duty-free export facility for all except two products,” he said.
Source: Bd news24
Awami League should demonstrate another election like the one they held in 2014. That will demonstrate what their version of democracy is. Like they equate BKSAL created by Sheikh Mujib as a democracy?? Sheikh Hasina is an autocratic ruler with a mouth which never stops. You are either with her or you are out. Almost like Donald Trump. She will make a good friend of Donald. Our PM created an opposition party to fill her parliament with a scoundrel like Ershad. As Napoleon Bonaparte said “The world suffers a lot not because of the violence of the bad people but because of the silence of the good people”. Time has come for the good people to rise up and reclaim our nation from the bad people.