BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has said there is no scope to skip democracy.
“There is no scope to skip as politicians are accountable to the people of the country, who will lead tomorrow’s politics,” the BNP leader said on Monday while speaking as chief guest at a rally before placing a wreath at Revolution Monument in Chittagong's Sholashahar area on Victory Day.
Referring to the 31-point reform proposals, Khasru said: "BNP is committed to implementing fully the reform agenda in the future, which was finalized earlier on the consensus of 50 political pastries including BNP."
He added that the people of the country and future parliament will make decisions on what types of and where reforms are required as they did in the past.
“The country’s first and main freedom fighter was Ziaur Rahman. Chittagong had played much important role in the nation’s victory in 1971 as Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman ushered the revolution against Pakistani occupation forces from Sholoshahar Revolution Monument by revolting and later proclaiming independence from the then Radio Transmission centre at Kalurghat," he highlighted.
He said that it was very unfortunate that the nation is still struggling to restore democracy even after 53 years of independence.
“Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman again freed the country from the clutches of Baksal and Awami League-led one-party regime that banned all political parties, publications of newspapers, regulated the judiciary and involved in killing and enforced disappearance of thousands of FFs as well as torturing people,” he said.
Pointing out the long history of the country’s reforms, Khasru said that Shaheed President Zia had first initiated and implemented the reform programs in the country by introducing multi-party democracy from one-party rule, then executed free market economy from government-regulated economy through which AL plundered public properties and committed unbridled corruption that resulted in famine in 1974.
He further added that it was Shaheed Zia who introduced a pragmatic and participatory economic policy that helped flourish RMG industry, which is now considered as main pillar of economy and exploring the manpower market abroad through which the country’s economy has been enjoying huge remittance inflow.
“Those were the real reform programmes first initiated by BNP’s founder Shaheed Zia and again such programmes had been continued by introducing parliamentary democracy and election under the caretaker government for free and fair election when BNP again assumed power under the leadership of Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia,” he said.
“Do not try to lecture politicians as they are well aware of required reforms for the nation as well as people’s expectation,” Khasru said pointing out that BNP has a long history of carrying out comprehensive and time-befitting reform programs.