Why is the govt dilly-dallying over election, asks Rizvi

BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi addresses a doa mahfil marking 10th death anniversary of Arafat Rahman Koko, the youngest son of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, at the city’s Banani graveyard on 24 January 2025Prothom Alo

Bangladesh Nationalist Party senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Friday raised a question on whether the interim government has any “masterplan” or not.

He, at the same time, asked “why is the dilly-dallying over the elections?”

“Whenever we hear, first the reforms, then the election - this sounds like the echo of Sheikh Hasina’s (ousted prime minister) speeches, first development then democracy. Such statements do not suit any adviser to the interim government,” he said.

Rizvi said this was addressing a doa mahfil marking 10th death anniversary of Arafat Rahman Koko, the youngest son of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, at the city’s Banani graveyard in the morning.

Raising questions on the neutrality of the interim government, the senior BNP leader stated, “We have been hearing that some people, staying within the government, are trying to form a political party. Then people surely could ask questions about the impartiality of the government.”

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If we get such information, then the political parties that waged a movement for democracy might think the interim government has been in some kind of “masterplan”, he stressed.

“So many people sacrificed, bloods have been shed. As a result, we have seen a victory like 5 August. An interim government has been formed after this movement. All the political parties supported this government. People expect this government will carry out its responsibilities impartially, and take steps to strengthen democracy. But when we hear, first reforms then election - it seems like the echoes of what Sheikh Hasina said, first development then democracy. Such statements do not suit any adviser to the interim government,” the senior joint secretary general of BNP expressed.

Pointing out that the prices of all the daily essentials increased by Tk 2-10 in the last one month, Rizvi said, can’t we criticise this lack of vision of the government? “Can’t we criticise if the government’s administration cannot work neutrally?”

“We have been waging movement on the streets year after year. Will the advisers of the government today teach the wise politicians of the country on what to support and what not, and about what they could speak about? … What we want to say is, why this procrastination, there is no deadline, why this echo of what Hasina said about development first and then elections. We don’t want to hear such things,” he said.

A recent survey of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) said most of the people want local government elections to be held before the parliamentary elections.

Addressing the issues, the BNP leader stated his lack of faith in the government agency. “The statistics bureau is a government agency. You have been employing them to conduct surveys. We are being told that the people in that (survey) said to hold the local government election first, then parliamentary elections. If you conduct any survey with the government agency, they would say things keeping an eye on the government’s reactions. But speak to the people of all walks of life, and listen to what they say. People surely would raise questions about neutrality of the government if you don’t act neutrally,” Rizvi said.

Earlier, the BNP leader paid respect to Arafat Rahman Koko placing wreaths at his grave in presence of many party leaders and activists.