Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday said it was the Bangladesh Awami League (AL) which snatched away the Jatiya Sangsad’s (parliament) power of impeaching judges.
“This [AL] is that party which befooled people by saying of democracy in the past. After the scrapping of 16th parliamentary amendment, they [AL] have launched into a tirade against the judiciary and claimed supremacy of parliament. I want to ask them: ‘Did you forget that it is you who have empowered the president to sack judges through 4th amendment’,” said Mirza Fakhrul.
He was speaking at a party programme at Bhasani Auditorium at Naya Paltan in the capital.
Pointing fingers at the ruling AL party, the BNP secretary general said, “You utter high-sounding words every day. You seem to have emerged as the only saviour of democracy! You gave many lectures in parliament and launched a scathing attack on the judiciary yesterday [Sunday].
“You spoke of the constitution. Who has framed this constitution? It is you. Who have destroyed the 1972 constitution gradually? It is the Awami League,” he added.
Referring to a defamation suit against him, Fakhrul said, “Main thing of defamation suit is that the person who will be defamed will file the lawsuit. In this particular case, I defamed the prime minister, but the case against me was filed by someone from Tanti League or Swechchhasebak League. Again, the trial [of the case] has begun despite the fact that the case has no merit.”
“This is how they want to use the law to serve their purposes,” alleged Fakhrul, and hastened to add, “That’s why the judges said: ‘How will you [MPs] impeach the judges? You will see nothing but the ones of you. So, you should not be entrusted with the responsibility’. That’s why, the judiciary has scrapped the 16th amendment and reinstated the judicial council.”
With Dhaka city (north) unit BNP senior vice-president Munshi Bazlul Basit Anjur in the chair, party’s publicity secretary Shahid Uddin Chowdhury, Swechchhasebak Dal president Shafiul Bari, general secretary of Dhaka city (north) unit BNP Ahsan Ullah Hasan also, among others, addressed the programme.
Source: Prothom Alo
