BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said the Awami League government will not be able to earn confidence of the people even if it builds a thousand Padma bridges keeping democracy besieged, reports UNB.
"Hold a credible election to see how much confidence people have in you (govt). Ayub Khan also carried out development activities during the Pakistan period. There's no point of constructing a thousand Padma bridges if there is no democracy and political emancipation of people and if they don't have voting and other rights," he said.
Fakhrul came up with the remarks at a press conference at the BNP Chairperson's Gulshan office reacting to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's recent comment that people are giving Awami League votes again and again as they have confidence in her government.
He questioned how the government gained people's confidence by rigging votes the night before the election day and by depriving people of their voting rights.
Reiterating their party's stance on the next polls, the BNP leader said their party will participate in the election if it is held under a non-party neutral government.
"A neutral and non-partisan government is a must for a free and fair election in Bangladesh. Otherwise, even if you bring the election commissioners from heaven, you won't have a credible election. "It's impossible," he observed.
Fakhrul who recovered from Covid infection recently came up with the outcome of their party's standing committee meeting at the press conference.
He said their standing committee meeting feels that the government has completely failed to stand by the affected people in the flood-hit areas. "It could not reach adequate relief materials among people. There's no visible activity by the government for rehabilitating flood victims.
The BNP leader said the meeting demanded the government immediately take steps for ensuring food, clothes, medical treatment and construction of houses for the affected people.
He said their standing committee members expressed serious resentment as the planning minister himself admitted that the 6th Population and Housing Census was not done properly across the country.
"It has never been possible to get the actual information through all kinds of surveys and studies during the tenure of the current government as data collection is done as per its instructions... as a result, international organisations can't trust all the information and data of Bangladesh," the BNP leader said.
About the sudden rise in load-shedding, Fakhrul said people across the country have been experiencing terrible power outages. "The frequent power cuts have proved that the government's comments on hundred percent electricity coverage are just rhetoric.
He said the government set up quick-rental power plants with the main goal to make their pockets heavier by indulging in corruption.
The BNP leader said the frequent power cuts are signs that Bangladesh is moving towards a fragile condition.
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