I was being democratic: Ershad

Jatiya Party chief Hussein Muhammad Ershad says he could not declare Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the Father of the Nation during his regime as he had to be ‘democratic’. According to the former military ruler, he had taken many unilateral decisions as the head of the state which was all for the sake of the people. ‘I am being called an autocratic ruler. I took decisions unilaterally, that’s why I am autocratic!’ he told a discussion in the city. Ershad, who was toppled through a populous movement in the early '90s, admitted that it was his unilateral decision to enforce the Upazila system and to raise the number of districts to 64. ‘The decision to form several High Court benches was also my own decision. I had to take unilateral decisions for the betterment of the people.’ Ershad claimed that there was only one instance where he could not take a unilateral decision. ‘I did not go for a unilateral decision, rather discussed the matter with all on declaring Bangabandhu as the Father of the Nation. I could not do it for practising democracy. I could have done it, if I decided on it unilaterally,’ said the former president, according to bdnews24.com.