BNP finds Bertelsmann Stiftung report on Bangladesh’s democratic standards shameful

After Bangladesh was listed as a new “autocracy” by a Germany-based organisation, Bertelsmann Stiftung, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said their assertion that “democracy is absent” in the country has been proved true through this report. The organization in its report, released on Friday, said five countries (Bangladesh, Lebanon, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Uganda) “no longer meet” the minimum standards for democracy. "These countries, where democracy has been gradually undermined for years, are under autocratic rule...," said Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index-2018. Referring to the report, the top BNP leader said: “It is a matter of shame as Bangladesh has been listed as ‘one of five new autocratic countries.' Democracy no longer exists in the country. “Bangladeshi citizens and those of us who fought for democracy and earned the country's independence feel ashamed of seeing the study findings," he told a press beefing at the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters in Dhaka on Saturday. Fakhrul said they had formed 37 teams to visit their 78 organizational districts to monitor the party’s activities at the grassroots level and decide on its course of action ahead of the 11th parliamentary polls due in December this year. The BNP second-in-command also said: “We conferred the “Mother of Democracy” title on our chairperson Khaleda Zia as she has struggled for establishing people’s democratic rights throughout her life.” He also demanded the release of Khaleda, who has been in prison since February 8 after being convicted in a graft case. After failing to secure permission from Dhaka Metropolitan Police to hold rallies at two previous dates, BNP once again announced its plans to hold a rally on March 29 at Suhrawardy Udyan. “A team comprising three members of BNP Standing Committee will soon meet with the home minister and submit a letter to him, seeking permission for the rally,” Fakhrul added. BNP Standing Committee members Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Mirza Abbas, Dr Abdul Moin Khan, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Amir Khasru Mahmud Choudhury, and Vice Chairman Abdul Awal Mintoo were present at the press briefing.This article was first published on banglatribune.com