BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday said Jamaat-e-Islami does not want Bangladesh to move forward and instead wants to turn the country into “another Afghanistan.”
The BNP leader, also the party’s candidate from Thakurgaon-1, said the country now has an opportunity to build a justice-based state.
He added that the BNP wants to ensure a free, fair and inclusive election environment involving all political parties, and is working toward that goal.
He made the comments while campaigning in his constituency in Thakurgaon on Monday morning.
Fakhrul alleged that Jamaat does not want women to work and wants them to remain confined to their homes. Referring to claims that garment workers would be required to work only five hours a day and then stay at home, he questioned how they would manage to survive.
“If they stay at home, what will they eat? No government will feed people for sitting at home. These are false assurances,” he said.
Referring to a recent post by the Jamaat ameer on X (formerly Twitter), Fakhrul said that if the ameer had made such a misogynistic remark, it was wrong.
He said men and women in Bangladesh would move the country and the world forward shoulder to shoulder. Noting that women outnumber men in the country, he said they would enjoy full and equal rights and dignity, which Jamaat-e-Islami does not want, he alleged.
The BNP secretary general also alleged that Jamaat is threatening members of the Hindu community. However, he urged everyone to take part in the election fearlessly and with courage.
“Every citizen is the owner of this country,” he said.
Addressing voters, Fakhrul said the country was now in their hands and that they must not make a wrong decision.