The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Saturday said that army deployment was not required in the elections that do not need polling with people boycotting.
The party said that ill attempts were being made to pit army against people by deploying them for the elections, scheduled for January 5, when less than a half of the total 300 parliamentary seats would need polling.
BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan at a news briefing at the party chairperson’s office at Gulshan in Dhaka in the evening said that the BNP viewed that army deployment for the election was unnecessary as there was no need for voting, people boycotted election and no one at home and abroad were interested in it.
He said that the patriotic army should not be used to serve one’s purpose. Nazrul, who is acting as the BNP spokesman, said that people trying to pit the army against people were working against people and the country.
He said that the BNP was surprised at the news of army deployment for the ‘farcical elections’ as more than a half the candidates had been shown elected unopposed and there were no competition for the remaining parliamentary seats.
He said that the inept Election Commission had taken a stand against people and was being used as a tool to fulfil the desire of the government.
Nazrul said that they [the EC] were making ill attempts to pit the army against people and condemned such ill attempts of the Election Commission.
Nazrul referred to an article of the Economic Times saying that it had termed the 10th parliamentary election of Bangladesh ‘a result of a decided election’ and ‘a clear farce.’ The article said that the Awami League would win this ‘farcical election’ and Bangladesh would be defeated.
Nazrul said that people of Bangladesh do not know to be defeated and they would also win this time.
He said that the government had already fallen in the face of ‘strong criticism’ at home and abroad. No international observers are coming to monitor the election and domestic observers are showing no interest.
He sounded a warning saying that people were getting ready to give a fitting reply to the incumbent government for making a ‘cruel mockery’ of democracy and elections.
Referring to reports published in the media over wealth statements of incumbent and former ministers of the Awami League government, including the prime minister, he said that it seemed that leaders and ministers were given Aladin’s lamps when they were made lawmakers and ministers with which they had accumulated the wealth.
He said that the leaders and ministers themselves had declared their wealth and people would come to know at an appropriate time of whatever wealth had remained beyond the wealth they declared.
Nazrul claimed that the opposition’s allegations of corruption against ministers, advisers and ruling party leaders had been proved true.
He said that whatever they (ministers and ruling party leaders) said in affidavit about their wealth was enough to prove corruption.
He criticised reported statement of an official of the Anti-Corruption Commission that they would investigate such matters if anybody lodged complaints against anyone.
In reply to the condition the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, had recently put forth about dialogues and a consensus with the opposition for holding the 11th parliamentary polls, Nazrul said that she (the prime minister) had made it clear that the government would not reach a consensus over a poll-time government for the 10th parliamentary election.
He said that her statement proved that the three rounds of meetings between the Awami League and the BNP mediated by the United Nations were meant to make people believe that the government was serious about it.
It also proved that the government had thwarted national and international efforts for a consensus through discussions, he said adding that the prime minister’s statement had made it clear that it was an ill motive to mislead people. He said that people would not fall into such traps.
Nazrul said that dialogues under a UN mediation were going on for a poll-time government for the 10th parliament aimed at free, fair and inclusive elections that would be acceptable to all.
He said that the BNP had no interest in discussions on 11th or the next other parliamentary elections.
Nazrul claimed that an opposition activist had been killed on the first day of 83-hour blockade of road, railway and waterways on Saturday, 523 wounded, 385 arrested, 3 sentenced by mobile courts and 29 leaders and activists prosecuted across the country.
Courtesy of New Age
