Govt move to reestablish Baksal to be foiled: BNP

Accusing the government of trying to reestablish a one-party rule, 'Baksal', under a different cover, BNP standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain vowed on Saturday to foil it through a movement together with people, reports UNB.

"The government's desire to perpetuate power by force and establish an unwritten Baksal rule ignoring people's opinions wouldn't be materialised as there'll be a strong resistance against it by the country's people," he said.

The BNP leader came up with the remarks while addressing a discussion organised by BNP marking the 78th birth anniversary of BNP founder late president Ziaur Rahman.

Mosharrf said the ruling party formed a government through a 'voter-less and candidate-less' election where there is no existence of the opposition. "They've annihilated democracy and made the entire country hostage to the administration being isolated from people. We've to pursue the movement to retrieve the country from the grasp of Baksal."

The former minister claimed that their movement was successful one as the country's around 95 per cent people boycotted the January-5 elections responding to their call.

"People have rejected those who assumed state power by force…The 10th parliamentary elections did not get the acceptability both at home and abroad," he said.

Terming the election scandalous one, Mosharraf said, "Bangladesh didn't witness such polls in the past. This parliament is a stigmatised parliament in history. Democracy has been buried with this election."

He also claimed that the January-5 farcical election has proved that the demand of Khaleda Zia for arranging the general election under a non-party government was right and justified one.

Another standing committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan said, "We have become the victim of a one-party democracy. The treasury and the opposition benches have got mingled into one. The basic rights of people have been buried. We have to jump into the movement to rescue the democracy."

Former VC of Dhaka University Emajuddin Ahmed said the struggle is not over rather it will continue to restore democracy.