BNP’s non-party polls-time government a ‘political bargain’: Quader
Ruling Bangladesh Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Tuesday reiterated that the next general elections would be held in line with the provisions of the Constitution, issuing a fresh warning to the BNP that there is no scope of bargaining to this end, reports news agency BSS.
“I will ask the BNP not to bargain to this end. No result will be found after bargaining. The government will not go out of the constitution. It will support the Election Commission in the same way that elections are held in other countries of the world,” he told a joint meeting.
Awami League organised the meeting with its associate bodies’ presidents and general secretaries as well as presidents and general secretaries of the AL’s Dhaka North and South units at its central office in the capital’s Bangabandhu Avenue.
BNP has been demanding a non-party polls-time government for long during the 12th parliamentary elections alleging that no free, fair and unbiased election is possible under the government formed by Awami League.
Speaking at the meeting, Quader also Road Transport and Bridges Minister, said that the BNP should take preparations for next general elections and there is no alternative to the elections in changing the state power.
“If the people vote for you in the next general elections and elect you, we will lose. But, we will always be in favour of fair elections,” he added.
“With the confidence of the people, we will hold free, fair and credible elections. We will ask the BNP to join the polls without bargaining here and there,” the AL general secretary said.
About the allegation of BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir over the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the next general elections, Quader said, elections are being held in many countries of the world using the EVMs.
“Do you want to manipulate the elections? There is no more modern method than this EVM system to avoid election engineering and forgery. Why would you object? Why should the government resign? What wrong we have done?” he questioned.
The AL general secretary further said the BNP and its alliance made shouts during the last general elections but the party finally joined the dialogue after making water troubled, and took part in the polls.
The BNP leaders are talking about the same thing this time too but they know very well that they have to join polls otherwise BNP’s existence will be under threat, he said. “They have no alternative to joining the polls”.
Responding to the statement of Fakhrul about the attack on LDP’s secretary general in Cumilla, Quader said the law enforcement agencies will take action after proper investigation into the incident.
He said during the tenure of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, no one is involved in any kind of misdeeds and irregularities got spared. “No one will be spared here either, there is no doubt about it.”
The AL general secretary said the people’s perception is that the BNP secretary general is suffering from political hallucinations being blind for power.
The AL does not believe in the ill-politics of planned attacks from the highest levels, carrying out terrorist attacks, grenade attacks, arson and terrorism, he said.
“The path of terror is chosen by those who stay away from elections losing confidence in the ballot. Conspiracies are the tools of those who do not walk on the path of democracy and look for the secrete lanes to grab state power,” Quader added.
Remarking that the people have already rejected the ill-politics of BNP, he said the politics of Sheikh Hasina’s development and progress has unmasked the politics of BNP’s falsehood.