Who deprived you for 15 yrs, boycott them for a single day: Rizvi

On the eve of the 12th national election, BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi urged voters to boycott the polls outright, alleging that the authorities had orchestrated a unique 'dummy election.'

"Those who deprived you of your civic rights over the last 15 years, boycott them for at least a single day on 7 January," he, senior joint secretary general of the party, said in a virtual press briefing on Saturday.

Rizvi called upon the voters to spend time with their families instead of going to the polling stations. "Encourage your family, relatives, friends, acquaintances, and neighbours to boycott the monkey game in the name of election and refrain from going to the polling stations."

He alleged that the government organised a dangerous game to illegally prolong its tenure in power for another term through the unique dummy election. They are leading the country towards a perilous situation, disregarding the calls from the democratic world.

The BNP leader described the fire incident on the Benapole Express train on Friday night as cruel, barbaric, and despicable and demanded an international investigation into the incident.