BNP standing committee member Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain on Wednesday said the current Awami League government must be ousted to restore democracy and materialise the dreams of the martyred intellectuals.
"We still could not implement the real spirit of the freedom fighters and the martyred intellectuals even after 51 years of the country’s independence,” he said.
Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader said the main spirit of the liberation war was to establish democracy, justice and equality.
“The martyred intellectuals gave us freedom by sacrificing their lives. We have to materialise the dreams of the freedom fighters and the martyred intellectuals and the spirit of the Liberation War. To materialise those dreams, this government must be removed. We, the people of the whole country, are ready to unseat the regime,” he said.
BNP arranged the programme at the National Press Club, marking the Martyred Intellectuals’ Day.
Mosharraf, a BNP standing committee member, said Awami League has been staying in power for 14 years by force without people’s mandate.
“They formed the parliament in 2014 without voting while they held the days’ voting at night in 2018. They’re now again trying to hold a lopsided election in the country,” he said.
The BNP leader said their party has formulated a 10-point demand for restoring democracy and people’s voting and other rights.
He said they will also present an outline on how their party will repair the country if it comes to power through a credible election. “Let’s move forward with that outline and the 10-point for the restoration of democracy. We take a vow on this day to free the country from misrule and establish the spirit of the Liberation War.”
Mosharraf said lakhs of people joined their party’s 10 divisional rallies across the country, sending out a message that those who have obliterated democracy, ruined the economy and the judiciary and polluted society will not be able to repair the state.
“People now want a change in power. This is now the responsibility of BNP, all nationalist and democratic forces to protect this country from this government and bring the change that the people want,” he observed.
Earlier in the morning, Khandaker Mosharraf along with party senior leaders paid tributes to martyred intellectuals by placing wreaths at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial at Mirpur in the city, marking the Martyred Intellectuals’ Day.
Later, different associate bodies of the party also placed wreaths at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial paying homage to the martyred intellectuals.
On the night of December 14, 1971, over 200 intellectuals, including educationists, journalists, litterateurs, writers, physicians, scientists, lawyers, artists, philosophers, and political thinkers had been picked up in Dhaka by Pakistani occupation forces, aided by their local collaborators.
BNP kept the national flag at half-mast and hoisted black flags atop all its offices, including the Nayapaltan central one, in the morning on the occasion.