Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, acting secretary general of BNP, yesterday hoped that the next general election would be held before scheduled time of 2019, claiming that this is what everyone expects.
“People never accepted any misdeeds in the past and will not do so in the future either. They boycotted the January 5 polls. The democratic world also did not support the election. It is everybody’s hope that an inclusive and credible election will be held before 2019,” he said while addressing a programme titled “Meet the Reporters,’’ which was organised by the Dhaka Reporters Unity at its auditorium.
It is not possible to topple the government by fixing a time frame, Fakhrul said, adding: “We believe the sooner the people will unite and take to the streets, the quicker the government will be compelled to resign from office.”
In reply to a question, he said: “Awami League leaders have said there would be no dialogue, but they have to sit for talks. They said the BNP has to severe ties with Jamaat-e-Islami to hold talks, but their party held discussions with us when Jamaat was their political ally. That is why I believe, in time, there will be a dialogue.”
The BNP acting secretary general said his party wants to resolve the crisis through talks rather than staging agitation programmes.
“We had a dialogue when the United Nations envoy mediated and, at the time, Awami League leaders said a fresh election would be held soon,” he said.
Speaking of his party’s ongoing movement, Fakhrul said it would be intensified gradually. “It is like driving a car. You first put the vehicle in first gear and move to the top gear bit by bit. It is the science of the movement.”
The BNP leader claimed the movement to resist the January 5 election was successful, saying: “Of the 42 political parties in the country, 30 boycotted the polls. There is no public representative in the parliament. Awami League clings to power using guns as it does not believe in people’s representation.”
Commenting on BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s absence at Tuesday’s rally, Fakhrul said: “Anyone can fall sick. I came here today with a cold and fever. The chairperson failed to show up because of illness and it will not happen in the future.”
He criticised the broadcast policy and said his party believes in freedom of the press. “The government has formulated the policy to put a muzzle on the media,” he said.
Fakhrul also bashed the parliament’s power to impeach Supreme Court judges. “This is dangerous for democracy. The government is doing this with an aim to control the judges,” he added.