BNP standing committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan has alleged that democracy in Bangladesh was “killed” not by the army but by a political party – Awami League – inside parliament within a span of a few minutes.
“The army never snatched away democracy of the country. Whenever Awami League has failed to come to power through elections it has hatched conspiracies to instigate the army to take over power and then welcomed it,” he said.
“Awami League says they were not unhappy when Ershad came to power; during 1/11 the Awami League said the changeover was the fruit of their movement,” claimed Moyeen while addressing a discussion at the National Press Club in the capital.
On the allegation that BNP put up the national flag on razakars’ cars by making them ministers, Moyeen said: “I like to speak out my mind. I do criticise when my party does anything wrong. BNP put the national flag on two Jamaat men’s cars; but why did the Awami League put the national flag on a razakar’s car in 1996?”
He said if the next elections were held under a non-partisan interim government, not only the Awami League candidates but also Awami League as a party would lose its deposits.
The former minister dubbed the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2013-14 “a lame duck budget” because the tenure of the government would expire after about six months and there is no guarantee that the same fiscal policies would be followed in the remaining period if people elect a different party to the government.
Moyeen Khan criticised the government for making contradictory statements on dialogue and the next parliamentary polls.
He said once the government said the dialogue would take place and then it took back the offer to dialogue; once the government said the elections would be held following the constitution and at other times it said the election would be held under an interim government.
“By making such contradictory comments the Awami League is conveying to the people that it is totally confused over the issue of the next general elections,” he said.
Moyeen claimed that the government’s contradictory comments were aimed at misleading people for fear of a huge debacle in the next elections.
“I am asking the government to give up the monarchic mentality and become democratic,” he said.
