Jatiya Oikya Front (JOF) leader Dr. Kamal Hossain firmly said on Saturday that the coalition would not boycott the upcoming parliamentary election, rather they would keep fighting until the end.
About the then opposition coalition led by BNP which boycotted the national election in 2014, he said the nation suffered much because of the wrong decision of not taking part in that general election.
"We'll not boycott the upcoming polls this time under any circumstances. We will stay in the voting race until the end. We'll stay in the field, let Awami League hatch as many conspiracies as they can," Mr. Kamal said while speaking as the chief guest at a rally of lawyers.
Pro-JOF lawyers arranged the rally under the banner of National Lawyers Oikya Front on the Supreme Court Bar premises in the capital.
President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Zainul Abedin moderated the rally.
Criticising the role of the Election Commission (EC), the veteran jurist said the commission invested billions of taka to implement the use of EVMs (electronic voting machines) in the polls.
"You (EC) have to hold dialogue with all (stakeholders) before implementing it. Otherwise, the EVM will not be allowed to be used," he said.
Blaming the Awami League for frequently violating the Constitution, Mr. Kamal, also a Constitution writer, said most of the parliamentarians of the government were elected uncontested, which was a violation of the Constitution.
After the controversial election in 2014 that was challenged in a court, the government had told the court that they held the polls for the sake of the Constitution and would hold another participatory election soon.
"What does it mean by soon? Five years? This is nothing but cheating and this government should be awarded gold medal in cheating," he added.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said they went to the court to take shelter from the repression of the ruling party but they did not get such shelter from the court.
"I can firmly say that Begum Zia is being illegally punished under the pressure from the government. We need to change the situation in the judiciary," he said.
Paying respect to former chief justice SK Sinha, he said he was the person who took a firm stance against the malpractices and was bold enough to keep independence of the judiciary unhampered.
"For that reason, the government forcefully got him out of the country," he said.
The BNP secretary general also called upon the lawyers to join in the movement for ensuring independence of the judiciary.
BNP standing committee member Barrister Moudud Ahmed said vested quarters had been hatching a conspiracy to keep BNP out of the voting race.
Blaming the ruling party men for the recent violence in front of BNP's Nayapaltan headquarters, he said the conspiracy was to foil the peaceful environment the party was maintaining. "We're in the voting race and we'll stay until the end," he added.
BNP leaders Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal and Sanaullah Miah, among others, spoke on the occasion.
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