BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir says it is quite clear previous dialogues with the government were useless.
He said they have become helpless after joining the election campaign for the upcoming general polls which will take place on December 30.
Fakhrul said this at a discussion with journalists at the Thakurgaon Press Club around 10:30pm on Thursday.
District BNP President Taimur Rahman,Vice President Sultanul Ferdous, and Joint Secretary Paigam Ali among others, were present at the time.
The BNP secretary general said: “We have always said there should be dialogue and there was, but no positive result came of it. We all wanted a caretaker government, and even Shekih Hasina protested in the past for it.”
Fakhrul said: “Earlier, Awami League blamed us for not joining the previous election, but this time we have joined. Still, we are being attacked and harassed everywhere. We have become helpless after starting our campaigns.”
He also said, as the Election Commission does not have its own manpower it is difficult for them to remain neutral.
The BNP leader added: “The nation needs a free, fair, and acceptable election. There is a lack of confidence and legitimacy for the government somewhere, though they are saying and doing a lot of things.
“We all have a responsibility to make the whole election process acceptable to the people so they can accept the elected party to form the new government.”
About cases filed against BNP members, Fakhrul said: “The ghost cases filed against us before the announcement of the election schedule were pre planned. These are all criminal cases and we have nothing to do with it. This is all a big joke with the people.
“People do understand which case is false and which one is true. The Comilla case against our chairperson was filed when she was confined to her Gulshan house. This is totally ridiculous.”
Fakhrul is contesting the 11th general election from Thakurgaon 1 and Bogra 6 constituencies.
Violation of the election code
The Awami League candidate from Thakurgaon 1, Ramesh Chandra Sen, on Thursday accused Fakhrul of violating the electoral code of conduct.
About the issue, Fakhrul said: “What Ramesh said is not true. I have spoken to the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police and told them where I was and a police force was also present there. My car was attacked and after that one of my men was arrested in a case filed for attacking my motorcade!”
Praising the role of the media, the BNP leader said: “The media is playing a neutral role in showing what has been going on and for that we are still able to move forward with our campaign. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have lasted this long. We are grateful to you for showing the truth.”
Fakhrul was supposed to head for Bogra on Friday morning.
Earlier, Jatiya Oikya Front members including BNP leaders led by Dr Kamal Hossain, sat twice for dialogue at Ganabhaban with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League led 14-Party alliance.