Says Dr Kamal
Amidst escalation of political violence centring the upcoming parliamentary election, Gonoforum President Dr Kamal Hossain yesterday said none would be allowed to “play” with people’s voting rights.
“This country doesn’t belong to any person, party or a quarter. We, the people, are the owners of the country…. So none will be allowed to play with 16 crore people of the country including its nine crore voters,” said the chief of Gonofourm, which has already rejected the election schedule announced on November 25.
Kamal said this while addressing a rally at the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital.
The Nagarik Oikya planned to hold a rally there at 3:00pm. On the other hand, the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) were also scheduled to hold a rally at the same venue at 3:30pm.
But both the programmes merged into one due to the similarity of the agenda. Columnist Syed Abul Maksud presided over the rally.
Castigating both the ruling and the opposition parties for the recent violence that claimed a number of lives, Nagarik Oikya convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna said both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia have to shoulder the responsibilities for the deaths.
He also demanded a neutral probe into the deaths in the political unrest.
Manna urged Hasina and Khaleda to solve the ongoing political stalemate immediately. “Otherwise, people themselves will solve the problems,” he added.
CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim also accused Hasina and Khaleda of the deaths.
He reiterated that the CPB would not join the 10th parliamentary polls without the participation of all political parties.
“We want an election in which all parties participate. But there will be no room for Jamaat-e- Islami. It is not a political party, anyway,” he added.
Abul Maksud said: “We demand two things from the rally — peace and democracy. We demand that the government make every effort to ensure a peaceful and acceptable election.”
Later, they brought out a procession with white flags from the venue of the rally, which ended at the Jatiya Press Club.
-With The Daily Star input
