The BNP acting secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, has termed the ruling AL as a heavy burden for the country, saying that the people are waiting to wage an intensive movement to oust the government from power. “People are preparing themselves for a tough anti-government movement under the leadership of Khaleda Zia, to get back their right to vote freely and to immediately oust the government,” he added.
The government has become an extremely heavy burden for the country and its people. The party’s rank and file, along with its different front and associate bodies, must unite immediately to serve this purpose, he said.
“We’ll wage an intensive movement to force the government to hold the next general election under the caretaker government (CG) system,” he added.
Alamgir was addressing a meeting of the Jatiyatabadi Sechhasebak Dal (JSD), a voluntary front of the party, at a hotel in the capital on Monday. JCD president Habibunnabi Khan Sohel chaired the event.
The BNP leader accused a vested quarter of hatching plots to split the nationalist party, and asked leaders and activists of the party to remain watchful ahead of the next poll.
“The plot to split the party had been hatched before, but to no effect. The new scheme will also go in vain,” he said.
The 18-party alliance chief, Khaleda Zia, has already directed party members to constitute movement committees across the country to resist the government’s move to hold a one-party general election, he also said.
The opposition spokesperson alleged that the government has been trying to keep the BNP away from the election process.
After the recently held five city corporation elections, the ruling party has apprehended that it would face a severe setback if the next parliamentary poll is held under a CG. So, it is planning to keep the BNP away from the election, he added.
“The country’s prevailing crisis is getting momentum. Time is very short for us. We must put pressure on the government to realise our demand immediately,” he said.
At a separate programme, BNP standing committee member Rafiqul Islam Mia said the ruling AL wants to prioritise Indian interests by implementing the much-talked-about Rampal Thermal Power Plant project near the Sundarbans. Premier Sheikh Hasina had inaugurated the project by ignoring the national interest, he alleged.
Mia also assailed the Election Commission for its partisan activities. The EC is not eligible to arrange a neutral general election, he said. The ruling AL has annulled the CG provision from the Constitution in a bid to to press the one-party BNKSAL rule in the country, he also said.
“We’ll never allow the AL to make its dream a success. We’ll wage a tough anti-government movement to resist such attempts,” he sounded a note of caution.
Mia was addressing a meeting on “Rampal Thermal Power Plan for whose interest”, organised by Democratic Movement at the National Press Club on Monday. Moniruzzaman Mia, former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, and others spoke at the programme, with Shadat Hossain Selim, adviser of the organisation, in the chair.
-With The Independent input
