Quader asks Fakhrul to quit BNP

Bangladesh Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader. File Photo
Bangladesh Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader. File Photo

Ruling Bangladesh Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Wednesday said BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir should resign from his party shouldering the responsibility for the failures both in the movement and the general elections, reports UNB.

"As a secretary general he couldn't carry out a movement even for 10 minutes in the last 10 years while his party couldn't get even 10 seats in the [11th parliamentary] elections. BNP has failed both in the movement and the election. He [Fakhrul] should resign taking the responsibility for the failures if he has the minimum sense of shame," he said.

A day after Fakhrul asked him to apologise publicly for committing the offence of "vote rigging" in the 11th parliamentary elections, Quader hit back at his BNP counterpart while talking to newsmen at the AL's Bangabandhu Avenue central office after an extended meeting of Dhaka south city unit Juba League.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said those who turned down people's outstanding victory should apologise to the nation.

He also said Fakhrul is now behaving like a 'reckless driver', and urged all to remain alert about him to avert any accident.

On Tuesday, Fakhrul said the Awami League is now unable to handle such a major 'rigging' in the election. "Ask Mr Quader (AL general secretary) to go to a stadium and apologise to the nation for resorting to blatant lies and deceiving people."

Mentioning that the 30 December national election was transparent and an excellent one, Quader questioned whether any agent of the candidates of the BNP and Jatiya Oikya Front raised any objection about the transparency of the election.

He also trashed the report of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on various election irregularities, including stamping ballot papers the night before the polls, terming those fictitious ones.

"TIB has now come up with a fairytale after so many days of the election. We know why they've cooked up so many imaginary and unbelievable stories. The country's people will give a reply to it," the minister added.