People haven't entrusted nation's destiny to a few parties: Khasru

BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has said the people of the country have not entrusted the responsibility of shaping the nation's destiny to a handful of political parties, reports BSS.

Khasru made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a seminar titled "Proportional Representation (PR) System: Elections and Critical Perspectives," jointly organised by Cosmos Foundation and United News of Bangladesh (UNB) jointly in the capital

He said, "The people of Bangladesh haven't given twenty or thirty political parties the mandate to sit down and shaping the country's future. We do not have the right to make decisions about Bangladesh's next 20 or 50 years."

The senior BNP leader said, "No one has given them the authority to shape the future of Bangladesh or define its democracy. He emphasisied that it is essential for all to work within the democratic order and discuss reforms with the people."

Stressing the need to return to a democratic order through elections, Khasru said, "If we are to restore the democratic process and subsequently make changes, the first duty is to hold an election under the current constitution and restore the democratic order."

Addressing political parties that make statements like 'if our demands aren't met, this or that won't happen,' the BNP leader advised, "If you believe in democracy, you must proceed through public discourse and discussion; this is the democratic process and it is ongoing... Everything will be resolved through discussion and constructive criticism here."

Calling upon those who are demanding the PR system to include it in their manifestos and present it to the public, he said, "The people know nothing about PR. Therefore, it is the responsibility of those demanding PR to mention it in their electoral agenda, go to the people and implement it only after receiving the public's mandate."

Referring to the National Consensus Commission, Khasru said the points on which consensus has been reached must be accepted and acted upon.

He added that discussion will continue on the issues where consensus has not yet been achieved, and the party that forms the government will subsequently work on those issues with everyone."

Highlighting the need for a change in the country's political culture, he asserted that tolerance for differing opinions in essential. If our political culture does not change, if people cannot respect views different from their own, democracy can never progress through confrontational politics.

In his speech as a special guest, BNP Standing Committee member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan warned that the decisions are made based on wishes of an individual or a particular group, the situation will resemble that of the previous government.