AL council boycott a right decision: BNP

October 24, 2016 00:00:00

BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said on Sunday the party took the right decision by not joining Awami League's national council as there is no democratic atmosphere in the country, report agencies.

"Not sending our delegation to their (AL) council, I think, a right decision since there is no democratic government," he said.

The BNP leader came up with the remarks at a press briefing at the party's Nayapaltan central office in the city.

Rizvi said how BNP leaders can join the ruling party's council as its leaders made indecent remarks about Khaleda Zia just two days before the programme and they tried to obstruct BNP's March19 council. "Our leaders and activists are still going through immense repression across the country because of them (ruling party men)."

"If a proper democratic atmosphere existed, then it 'would have been odd not to attend." He added.

Earlier, on Saturday, BNP refrained from attending the AL's 20th national council. The two-day council of the ruling party began on Saturday at the city's Suhrawardy Udyan.

On Thursday, AL invited BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to join its party's council.

Asked what their party achieved by not attending the council, Rizvi said, "We're surely benefited from it. We can't join the programme of a party that regularly insults us and represses us."

He alleged that the ruling party leaders consider themselves as landlords as they are not people's representatives.

The BNP leader also criticised the ruling party for what said its excessive expenditure for the council. "They occupied the entire Dhaka city and decorated its different parts with various types of lightings for the council as they think the country as their personal property."

He alleged that the ruling party collected money for the council unfairly. "This council is being held through a massive corruption."

BNP joint secretary general Moazzem Hossain Alal said on Friday they would attend the event, but no BNP representatives were seen at the Suhrawardy Udyan inaugural session on Saturday.