This is not the people’s parliament: Rizvi
BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has said the parliament which started its journey today and came to power through a ‘dummy’ election is not a people’s parliament.
He made these remarks at a press briefing at the BNP central office in the capital’s Naya Paltan on Tuesday. The first session of the 12th national parliament started at 3:00 pm today, Tuesday.
Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said, “A shameful journey of the national parliament starts today for the second time in the history of Bangladesh. This is a strange parliament with all the members coming from one party. It’s like a puppet show where one person will pull the strings in all the issues like the role of the independent MPs or who will be the opposition in the parliament.”
The BNP senior joint secretary general said, “The 180 million people of the country have rejected the so-called 12th national parliament. This is not a people’s parliament. Here all are the members of Awami League."
Ruhul Kabir said the ruling Awami League alone occupies as many as 223 seats in the parliament. Besides, 58 of the 62 independent MPs are Awami League leaders. The Jatiya Party is the opposition party with the “blessings of Sheikh Hasina”. She kindly sacrificed 11 seats for them.
“The Awami League is coming up with heinous plans one after another to deceive the people to retain power. Some 120 million people were deprived of their rights to vote this time as well. The Awami League is overwhelmed in the temptation of power. People’s will doesn’t carry any value to them,” he added.
Rizvi said people’s support is fundamental for political parties to survive. Awami League has lost it. This is why the leaders of the party make baseless statements. The statements from Obaidul Quader and Hasan Mahmud are valueless to people.
He further said a Jubo Dal leader died in police custody Monday night. He fell sick after being subjected to torture. He died in the prison without any medical treatment. He firmly protested and condemned the incident.