BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday said the current regime will be forced to concede to their demand for holding the next election under a non-party government, as their party is going to launch a different type of movement involving the masses.
Talking to reporters at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, he however assured that they will not announce any harsher programmes like hartal and blockade to avoid street violence.
“It’ll undoubtedly be a little different from the previous movements and the involvement of the people will also increase,” the BNP leader said.
He also said they are confident that there will be huge involvement of mass people, especially the young ones, in their one-point anti-government movement.
“We believe that the government will finally be forced to concede and resign to hold the next election under a neutral government,” Fakhrul said.
He claimed that their party’s recent youth rallies in different cities and districts evoked overwhelming response.
“We’ll now begin (road) march programmes. We hope that we’ll kick off the one-point movement in the future,” the BNP leader said.
He said the one-point demand will be the combination of the BNP’s 10-point and the other opposition parties’ different demands with the objective to force the Awami League regime to quit, dissolve parliament, and arrange the national polls under a caretaker government by reconstituting the Election Commission. “The one-point demand is basically the resignation of this government.”
Asked about the nature of the new-type of movement, the BNP leader said they are consciously avoiding any harsher programmes like hartal and blockade.
“There is no reason for us to resort to violence. If the government somehow pushes the movement in that direction, then they’ll be held responsible for it. We’re carrying out the movement peacefully and we want to go to the final stage of it peacefully.”
The BNP leader said it is the responsibility of the government to resolve the political crisis what it created by annulling the caretaker government system by amending the constitution.
“They (AL) have a two-thirds majority (I’m parliament to amend the constitution). It totally depends on the goodwill of the government. If the government has any love for the people and the country, then it’ll take steps to overcome the crisis through talks with all the political parties,” he observed.
Fakhrul said the government can find a suitable way for establishing a polls-time neutral administration through the political talks. “It has happened in Bangladesh in the past…it’snot a very difficult task. But what is necessary a good intention and love for the country andthen that will happen.”
He said the amendment to the constitution is a must through the discussions with the political parties to hold the next election in a credible and acceptable manner.
Fakhrul slammed Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader for his remark that Jamaat-e-Islam is BNP’s B-team, saying the ruling party wants to mislead thepeople with such statements.
“We don’t want to answer these things. The people will reply to statements through the movement,” he said.
The BNP leader also said the government will not get any scope this time to divert people’s movement to a wrong direction to make their political gains.
Asked their party’s position on Jamaat-e-Islam, he said Jamaat is doing politics in its own way as a political party, though it’s not now registered with the Election Commission.
“Our main point is that we thank those who raise their voices against the government. Wehave been carrying out the movement simultaneously, not under any alliance. Every political party who feels that they should speak against this government can do so… it is natural,” Fakhrul said.
He said tsome left parties, including the Communist Party, have also been doing movement from their respective positions. “Jamaat-e-Islam is agitating from its own position…there are many more parties who are not in our simultaneous movement, but they are on the movement, and we welcome them all.”
As his attention was drawn to the Foreign Minister’s statement involving BNP with the UN peacekeeping mission, the BNP leader said it is an attempt of the government to divert people’s attention to a different direction from the political crisis and thwart the ongoing movement.
“No tricks will work as goal is fixed and the people’s goal is fixed this time…this illegal government must resign, elections must be held under a non-partisan government, ” he said.
Replying to a question, Fakhrul warned that right-wingers, extremists, fundamentalism andmilitancy can rise if democratic space is not given, elections are not held fairly and people are deprived of their democratic rights.
“Neither BNP nor the international community wants the rise of militancy here. We want to establish a truly liberal democratic state, which was at the main spirit of our war of independence in 1971,” he said.
The BNP leader alleged that the Awami League government has destroyed the democratic spaceand snatched the people’s voting rights.
“When people don’t get democratic and space and find a way to change the government democratically and exercise their right to franchise, then they will go in a different direction,” he said.
The BNP leader alleged that the government iscreating the ground forrise of extremism. “They have created such situation in the country for the rise of extremism. They’re pushing the country in thatdirection.”
Fakhrul, who returned to Dhaka in the afternoon from his home district Thakurgaon after celebrating the Eid-up-Azha, talked about different political issues while exchanging Eid greetings with journalists.
