She warns govt, EC against manipulation
Abdullah Juberee . Feni
Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia on Wednesday dismissed rumours that her party and alliance might withdraw from the election race but warned against attempts to rig the December 29 parliamentary polls.
She warned the interim government and the Election Commission of ‘dire consequences’ if attempts were made to ‘change’ the election results.
‘Conspiracies are still on to keep BNP and the four-party alliance out of election. People with ill motives are spreading rumours that BNP does not want to participate in the polls. But I would like to make it clear that there is no reason for us to pull back from the polls’, Khaleda told a large rally at Feni Pilot High School ground as she was electioneering in her home district Wednesday.
She said, ‘We will certainly participate in the polls. I believe the four-party alliance will form the government with the people’s mandate as we did in the last election.’
The BNP chief alleged that the government and ‘a political party’ had tried to hold elections keeping BNP out of the race as they did not want to lift the state of emergency.
‘We reminded them that BNP was the largest political party in the country. No election can be held without BNP and the government had to lift the emergency accepting the people’s demand.’
Thousands of people attended the meeting held amid tight security. They welcomed Khaleda with claps and slogans as
she asked the crowd in local dialect, ‘Can you recognise me? I am your daughter…’
‘The people who are conspiring to make the country subservient must be voted out in the forthcoming polls’, Khaleda said.
Speaking at a wayside rally at Fulgazi in Feni 1, her own electoral constituency, the former prime minister cautioned the interim government and the Election Commission of ‘catastrophic consequences’ if attempts were made to foil the elections or change its results. ‘Stay neutral and publish the election results neutrally’, she said.
‘Conspiracies are still on to foil the December 29 elections’, she warned.
Khaleda Zia left Dhaka Tuesday morning for a two-day electioneering in the south-eastern districts of Munshiganj, Comilla, Lakshmipur, Noakhali, Feni and Narayanganj. She stayed overnight at Feni, her home district.
On Wednesday, she also addressed campaign rallies at Munshirhat, Chhagalnaiya and Parshuram in Feni 1, Chouddagram in Comilla 11, Nangalcoat in Comilla 10.
Referring to the seizure of grenades and arrest of two alleged militants at a spot three kilometres from a venue of her wayside rally in Comilla Wednesday, Khaleda alleged that there was an attempt to kill her.
She also alleged that there was a plot to create trouble by causing traffic jam at Shanir Akhra in Dhaka on Tuesday when she was on her way to Comilla.
She pledged to curb crime and corruption, contain prices of essentials and supply agricultural inputs, ensure fair prices for farm produce, generate employment and ensure neutrality of the judiciary and the civil and military administrations.
On her hectic campaign trail, Khaleda was also scheduled to address rallies for the party candidates at Murapara and Gymkhana playground at Fatullah in Narayanganj on her way back to the capital Wednesday night.
Courtesy: newagebd.com
