If June is considered, the polls will never happen: Mirza Abbas

BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas has expressed suspicion that if June is considered for holding an election, there will be no election at all in Bangladesh. He reiterated the demand for election within December, and insisted that it was the initial deadline of the chief adviser himself.

“BNP has consistently demanded elections within December. It was Mr. Yunus who initially mentioned December—not us. Later, he shifted the timeline to June. If you talk about elections in June, the election will never happen in Bangladesh,” he told reporters today, Friday morning, after paying tribute at the grave of BNP founder and former President Ziaur Rahman on the occasion of his 44th martyrdom anniversary.

Mirza Abbas further said the elections must be held within December, if there is an intention for holding the election. “If there is no intention to hold elections, that is Mr. Yunus’ responsibility, not ours. The people of Bangladesh will eventually ensure the election. Without this, the geographic advancement of Bangladesh will be in jeopardy.”

He alleged that chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus was badmouthing BNP and the country from abroad. “He claimed only one political party wants elections (in December). But we say—there is only one person who does not want elections, and that is Professor Yunus.”

Referring to reforms carried out by Ziaur Rahman, the BNP leader said he implemented numerous reforms without appointing foreign consultants. “In contrast, the current government, in the name of reforms, has reached a point where it no longer wants to hold elections.”

Amid rain, BNP activists and leaders gathered at Ziaur Rahman’s grave to pay tribute in hte morning. Among them were standing committee members Salahuddin Ahmed, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Dr. AZM Zahid Hossain, chairperson’s advisor Amanullah Aman, joint secretary general Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee, and former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar.