Hasina’s govt ‘worst-ever’ in the world: BNP

Describing Sheikh Hasina’s rule as ‘the worst-ever one’ in the world, BNP on Thursday bemoaned that it has lost its faith in the country’s apex court as it has turned down Khaleda Zia’s leave-to-appeal petitions challenging the lower court’s trial in two graft cases filed against her.

“We had moved the Supreme Court with leave-to-appeal petitions challenging the false trial against our leader (Khaleda). The court has rejected our pleas. We aren’t upset but aggrieved with the court order, and our faith in the apex court has shattered,” said BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

He was addressing a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club arranged by the student leaders of Ducsu and All Party Students Unity (Apsu) of the 90s, marking the 24th death anniversary of Dr Shamsul Alam Khan Milon.

On November 27, 1990, the cadres of then autocratic ruler HM Ershad gunned down Dr Milon, the then joint secretary of Bangladesh Medical Association, on the Dhaka University campus.

Different socio-political and cultural organisations observe the day with various programmes.

Fakhrul alleged that the government is conspiring to remove Khaleda from politics through her trial in ‘false’ cases.

He warned that the government’s such plot would backfire, as it will only intensify people’s movement to hasten its fall.

Criticizing the ruling party leaders for their remarks that people have accepted the January-5 polls and the subsequent government, the BNP leader said the ruling party would not be able to fool people with such assertions. “No foreign country endorsed this government, let alone the country’s people.”

He urged the government to test its popularity if it thinks that people are with them through holding an election under a non-party administration. “I personally can guarantee, I’ll never ever think of politics if people don’t vote us.”

Fakhrul claimed that the most Awami League candidates would lose security money if a fair election is held right now.

The BNP spokesperson alleged that the government has taken control over all the state institutions, including the administration and the judiciary, in a bid to establish one-party Baksal rule in the disguise of democracy.

Fakhrul said the present Hasina government is worse than HM Ershad’s autocratic regime and that the country’s present situation is much more unbearable than that time.

He lamented that an old traditional party like Awami League that had fought against Pakistani autocrats for democracy twice, in 1975 by establishing Baksal and on January-5 though holding a farcical election, annihilated democracy after the Liberation War.

“Awami League is the national betrayer. They cheated people by holding a farcical and voter less election on January 5 and grabbed the state power snatching people’s voting and all others rights,” he added.

Deceiving people is Awami League’s hold habit, Fakhrul said the party first cheated people by fleeing country when the Liberation War had begun. “It also cheated people by joining the 1986 election and again did the same by holding the January-5 one-sided election.”

He urged the current student leaders to be active on the streets to restore democracy and establish a government of people through a fresh election under a non-party administration.