BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday asked Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader if Delhi had declared that elections weren't necessary and then enforced them.
“The Awami League general secretary said Delhi is there, so are we. I want to ask him what he meant. Has Delhi told you to continue your misdeeds and there is no need for an election? Has Delhi told you to announce the election by force? Then, make it clear,” Fakhrul said while addressing a program at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) in Dhaka.
Bangladesh Sammilita Peshajibi Parishad and Ganotantrik Peshajibi Oikya Parishad arranged the program, demanding the release of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and the resignation of the current government and holding the next polls under a non-partisan and neutral caretaker government.
“They have become so scared and puzzled that their General Secretary has said there’s no fear as an understanding (with the US) has been reached behind the scenes,” said Fakhrul.
“It means you admitted that you were afraid for so long,” he said while speaking at a convention of professionals.
“There’re very few liars like you (Quader) in the world. No big liars like you can be found in the world. You have outshined Goebbels,” Fakhrul added.
He recalled that Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen earlier falsely claimed that the prime minister had held discussions and a meeting with the US President during the G-20 summit in India.
“We all know how they ran after (Biden) to take pictures,” said the BNP leader.
Fakhrul further said that the Awami League government has no legitimacy and that the people of Bangladesh have "no confidence" in it.
“Also, the democratic world has also expressed its lack of trust in this government,” he said.
The countries that support democracy have made it clear that the elections of 2014 and 2018 were not legitimate, he said, adding: "There can be no election under this government this time … No election under this government will ever be legitimate."
Fakhrul criticized Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's speech in London, calling her words "so crude that there is no language to condemn them."
Sheikh Hasina, however, spoke some truths in her speech, admitting that she had ordered Khaleda Zia's eviction from her cantonment residence, he said.
"There is no need for a judiciary in Bangladesh, as Sheikh Hasina's word is the law. She should now declare herself emperor," he added.
On the BNP's ongoing movement, Fakhrul said: "We have been peacefully protesting for almost two years. Already 22 of our leaders and activists have been martyred in this ongoing protest. Still, our movement is peaceful. But I cannot say that it will always be peaceful if the government keeps obstructing us."
