Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader Monday accused BNP of trying to stage another one-eleven and advised them to come out “this nightmare.”
“One-eleven will never come back to Bangladesh,” Quader said at a media briefing at his official residence. “Those who think that the government will fall after a few rallies are living in a fool’s paradise,” he said.
In Bangladesh the 1/11 is referred to the day when a military-based caretaker administration took over amid a deepening political crisis over holding of general elections.
The AL leader explained the scrapping of the constitutional provision of holding general election under neutral caretaker government in 2011.
Pointing to BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam’s claim Quader said that the high court – not the Awami League government – abolished the caretaker government system.
Referring to Fakhrul’s claim that AL is conspiring to stay in power until 2041 Quader said “Only God and the people of the country know who will be in power till 2041 and who will be out.”
He said Awami League believes in politics of ballot and respects people’s trust.
Quader said that if the people of the country want, the Awami League will form the government again.
He said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has honest courage and for her power is not a permanent thing.
“If someone works for the welfare of the people, they never turn anyone away. And that’s why Awami League has been doing people’s politics since its birth,” he said.
He also said that Awami League does not believe in the politics of conspiracy, BNP does the politics of conspiracy, murder, fire and terror.
Calling BNP as an ungrateful party, the general secretary of Awami League said that PM Hasina by an executive order allowed the party’s leader to stay outside prison and at home. But BNP does not have that sense of humanity and gratitude.
Claiming that BNP opposes for the sake of opposition, Quader said that whatever the government does, BNP starts blindly criticizing it.
The AL leader wondered why does BNP create unnecessary controversy about something not seen anywhere in the world.
He once again said according to the constitution, the next national election will be held like in other democratic countries of the world. If politics is for the people, BNP should come to the election.
Quader asked the BNP secretary general that those who do not have democracy within their party how will they establish democracy in the country?
He also said that if he (Quader) has to resign then Mirza Fakhrul should be the first to resign due to continuous failure in the movement and elections.
“Mirza Fakhrul has been holding the post of secretary general of the party for many years without any council. Fakhrul may not even know when the general meeting of BNP was held,” he said.
Quader explained that mega projects have been undertaken by his ministry under the instructions of the Prime Minister and a revolutionary change in the communication system has been achieved in this country. People of the country know this very well – but BNP is pretending not to know.
