I’ve no idea whether Shakib joined BNM or not: Obaidul Quader
Awami League (AL) General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders are talking nonsense as they are tired, and their activists are frustrated.
“The party (BNP) leaders are now criticising the government blindly in the name of iftar party. In fact, I don’t know whether it is ‘iftar party’ or ‘criticise party’.
They are organising those iftar parties only to criticise the Awami League, not to praise Almighty Allah,” he remarked.
The AL general secretary told newspersons after a meeting to exchange views with the leaders of Sramik League and Krishak League of Dhaka south and north units at AL central office in the city’s Bangabandhu Avenue.
“It is necessary to reply with rubbish if the BNP lies. They (BNP) should stop lying,” Quader said.
Speaking about an allegation of creating conflict and splitting the key opposition, BNP, he said, “Why will we split the BNP? We have no weaknesses. Awami League has many leaders and activists. The people witnessed a massive crowd during the collecting of AL nomination forms ahead of the last parliamentary polls. The Awami League has no crisis.”
Over the “Kings’ Parties”, the AL general secretary, said the Awami League has no need to create any “Kings’ Party”. There are many people who want to form a political party before the polls to get gratuitous benefits, he claimed.
Asked about the allegation of the joining of cricket all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan to a Kings Party, Bangladesh Nationalist Movement (BNM), Quader said, “I noticed the issue in the media. I have no idea about the matter. But, Shakib participated in the election with an AL ticket and won. He got the primary membership of the party before seeking nomination.”
Criticising a comment by a BNP leader, the minister said BNP thinks that some countries will put them in power. But, the reality is that the people are the owners of the country, and they will decide who would go to power, he said, adding that there is no possibility to change the government without the support of the people.
The AL general secretary also talked about a report on democracy of an observer team from the US. “We have our own criteria of democracy. No one is perfect in the world. We also know it. A former president of the US has claimed that if he didn’t get elected, bloodbaths would happen in the country. What type of democracy is it? Even the former president didn’t accept the elected president of the US till now. So, it is difficult to understand the criteria of democracy.”
Quader said military rulers and their allies were in power for 21 years in Bangladesh and there were no practices of democracy. Later, a political party had formed the government, but it is regrettably true that they also did a farcical election on 15 February in the name of democracy, he said.
About the prices of essentials, the AL general secretary said the prices of some commodities have already been reduced. The government is also trying to reduce the prices of other essential commodities.