Plot to derail polls will be thwarted: Mirza Abbas

The BNP has accused "certain political groups" of working through a planned design to strip people of their democratic rights, warning that any attempts to disrupt the election will be firmly opposed, reports bdnews24.com.

Calling for vigilance, senior leader Mirza Abbas said attempts to create instability in Dhaka will not be allowed, adding that those who try to do so will be pushed back.

Speaking at a party workers' meeting in the capital on Saturday, he said: "Some political parties are trying to reap benefits by holding the people of Bangladesh hostage."

The BNP's nominated candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency said the people of the country had earned independence in 1971 and secured the right to speak again in 2024 through bloodshed, warning that there was now an effort to snatch away those hard-won rights.

Without naming any individual or party, he pointed to a sequence of events following the announcement of Tarique Rahman's return, saying a killing and several subsequent incidents made it clear that these were not isolated developments but part of a planned design.

He said those behind such actions were seeking to undermine the democratic rights achieved through struggle, stressing that the right to vote must be restored and protected at all costs.

"Any plot to derail the election will be countered through the election itself. This country will have an election, it has to," he added.