Plain and simple thing is no election will be held under Hasina, said opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday.
"Not only our party, the leaders of 36 parties have simultaneously said they will not contest in any election under the incumbent government,” he added.
Fakhrul reiterated, “We said it clearly, no election will be held in this country if there is no neutral polls-time government. No one makes the same mistake twice. We will not take part in any polls under Sheikh Hasina and her government."
Mirza Fakhrul was addressing as chief guest at a “youth rally” of Khulna division in the afternoon.
Jubo Dal, Swechchhasebok Dal and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal jointly organised the rally at Dakbangla-Sonali Bank premises in the town, where leaders and activists of 10 districts and Khulna town attended.
The BNP leader said, “This moment is the most critical moment for Bangladesh. Bangladesh was established through a war. The current crisis is more critical than all the attempts made to destroy the country, to beat its spirit and obliterate the nation since the liberation war. The main challenge to overcome the crisis is not only to ensure the rights of voting, but also to save our Bangladesh. We have started the war that will protect independence and sovereignty. People of whole Bangladesh have to be mobilised. Not only vote, there will be no existence of Bangladesh if the people who have seized the power illegally and contravenes the constitution.”
Mirza Fakhrul also spoke about physical assault of Ashraful Alam alias Hero Alam, who contested as an independent candidate in the by-elections to Dhaka-17 constituency on Monday.
He said, “An election has been going on at Dhaka-17 constituency today… There is no voter in any centre. All the polling centres are empty though a top leader of AL think-tank is the candidate. Another person has become a candidate on his own. People in social media know him. He is not any political personality. People of Bangladesh know him a bit differently; that Hero Alam. He went to a centre. Awami League’s ‘famous’ terrorists, who guard democracy and Awami League. They chased Hero Alam. Not only that, they shoved him on the road and beat up mercilessly.”
“Just think, how bankrupt the Awami League has become! They are so politically bankrupt that they cannot even bear a person like Hero Alam,” he added.
Alleging that AL maintains its previous character, Mirza Fakhrul said, “Awami League formed BAKSAL by banning all other political parties. People’s freedom of expression and right to speech were snatched. This Awami League is that Awami League. Only the outer garment has changed. That time it introduced one-party system of BAKSAL through parliament. These days they are ruling the country through one-party system through manipulation.”
Mirza Fakhrul also alleged that 600 of the party leaders and activists have been made victims of enforced disappearances, hundreds of leaders and activists have been killed and made crippled by shooting at them.
The BNP leader also blamed the government for dengue situation. “When children are suffering from dengue, 76 people have already died, our health minister and his family have gone abroad to pass leisure period. Dhaka South City Corporation’s influential mayor Taposh has gone to visit Europe along with his whole family. But they shout for 24 hours. They have gone abroad keeping people in distress. This is their actual character. They do not have any accountability to the people.”
Mirza Fakhrul also criticised the business leaders saying them as political scavengers. “Our illegal prime minister was the chief guest at a programme of FBCCI recently. The head of that body at the programme said they want to see Sheikh Hasina as the prime minister once again’.
JCD central president Kazi Raunakul Islam presided over the programme.