BNP has no responsibility towards democracy: Quader

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has no responsibility towards the country’s democracy, rather the party is the main obstacle to implement the democratic norms here, claimed governing Bangladesh Awami League (AL) general secretary Obaidul Quader Monday.

“When killers of democracy talk about democracy, then it should be understood that they have a different purpose. This is nothing but their crocodile tears for democracy. BNP has no responsibility towards democracy,” he said in a statement.

Quader, also road transport and bridges minister, stated that such outcry of BNP for democracy is to push back the country towards the misrule of Tarique Rahman, who is the mastermind of 21 August grenade attack, kingpin of “Hawa-Khwab Bhaban” and key player of corruption, terrorism and criminalisation.

Today the democracy-loving people of this country are united against the evil force, he said.

The AL general secretary expressed that the BNP, which was born at the hands of the military dictator, is carrying out subversive attempts to destroy the spirit and values of Liberation War and democracy as well under an orchestrated plan.

Castigating the key opposition party, the ruling party leader said BNP leaders should have sought unconditional pardon from the nation for their undemocratic activities. But without doing so, they are making their traditional ill-motivated comments, he added.

The minister also said BNP founder “cruel military dictator Ziaur Rahman” had seized the state power down the barrel of a gun.

Ziaur Rahman forced President Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem to resign at gunpoint and became the President of Bangladesh, he said.

Zia had ruined the country’s democratic values and election system in the name of farcical elections of “Yes-No” vote in 1977, Obaidul Quader also stated.

Following the footprints of Ziaur Rahman, Begum Khaleda Zia held farcical elections on 15 February in 1996, he said. “She (Khaleda) gifted the nation Mirpur and Magura type of rigged by-elections.”

BNP formed the Aziz-type election commission and created a voter list with 12.3 million fake voters to seize the state power through election manipulation, Quader said.

BNP had set a worst example of repression and torture on leaders and workers of opposition party in the name of “Operation Clean Heart”, the AL general secretary said in the statement.

During the tenure of the coalition government of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami in the post 2001 period, as many as 21,000 leaders and workers of Awami League were killed, Quader claimed.