BNP to conduct two-day mass contact programme even after election

BNP has announced a two-day mass contact programme, even after the 12th Jatiya Sangsad election is over. The party's standing committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan made this announcement today, Monday, at a press briefing held at the Gulshan office of the BNP chairman.

Moyeen Khan said, "BNP believes in peaceful and lawful politics. As part of this, until the next programmes are decided upon, the mass contact programme will continue tomorrow (Tuesday) and the day after (Wednesday). We will go to the people on the streets, grounds and public places, speak to them, and distribute leaflets."

Earlier, in a written statement, Moyeen Khan had said, the people had given their verdict by observing the hartal (strike). There is no alternative to Sheikh Hasina's resignation. The 7 January 'dummy election' must be cancelled and Sheikh Hasina must resign."

BNP standing committee member Moyeen Khan claimed that the people had rejected the 7 January 'dummy election'. On behalf of 63 pro-democracy parties including BNP, he extended felicitations to the people in this regard. He said there were many centres all over the country where not a single vote was cast or only a handful of votes were cast.

Moyeen Khan claimed that not a single vote was cast in 19 centres of 196 centres in the Khagracchari hill constituency. This proved that the government and the election commission were worthless.

Claiming that the government has resorted to manipulations to increase the voter turnout rate, Moyeen Khan said, Awami League failed to increase the presence of voters at the centres, even by fielding dummy candidates for a contrived competition in the election. They could not bring the voters to the centres even by resorting to various ploys including threatening to withdraw their allowance cards, and by forcefully ordering government and non-government officials and employees to cast their votes.

Moyeen Khan said, the democracy-loving people believed that the winners had been predetermined. If the people had faith in the government and the election commission, they would have turned up at the voting centres. By boycotting the election, the people delivered a clear message that this election commission and the government are all worthless. He said, if Sheikh Hasina tried to form a government through this dummy election, it will be a government of dummies and for dummies. The people did not want a dependent dummy government, but an acc­ountable government of representatives elected by the people.