BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir asked the Election Commission (EC) to be self-reliant and not to remain subservient to the government, on Friday.
“Deploy army immediately in Gazipur otherwise election will not be fair,” Fakhrul told the EC while addressing a demonstration organised to protest the arrest and repression of Amar Desh Acting Editor Mahmudur Rahman, at the Jatiya Press Club in the capital.
The BNP spokesperson alleged that the government is hatching a conspiracy to ensure the victory of its candidate in the Gazipur city polls.
“The government is using the local administration and police to rig vote. Even the government is appointing the party men as presiding officer and importing arms and henchmen to Gazipur to rig the election,” he alleged.
Issuing a note of warning, Fakhrul said if the government tries to rig the votes in Gazipur, a movement to oust the government will be starting from there.
Fakhrul urged the government to accept the demands of the non-partisan interim government in overseeing the next general polls saying: “People have showed ‘no confidence’ to the government in the four city corporation polls and sensing defeat the government now wants to hold the next elections under its arrangements.”
He slammed Suranjit Sengupta for his statement that Hasina would be heading as the chief of the interim government.
Fakhrul came down heavily on Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu for being too harsh on Amar Desh.
Earlier, Inu said that publication of Amar Desh will remain ceased till the issue is settled in court.
Meanwhile, at another programme, Moudud Ahmed, a standing committee member of the party, branded the EC as a ‘toothless and clawless tiger’.
“Mayoral candidate Jahangir Alam was forced to withdraw his candidature from the Gazipur City Corporation polls but the EC played the role of a silent spectator,” said Moudud.
Addressing a discussion organised by the Jatiyatabadi Peshajibi Parishad, at the Jatiya Press Club in the capital, he said: “Those who do not have strong backbones were appointed to the commission and that’s why they cannot work independently.”
About Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s claim that the local governmental elections were being held in a free and fair manner under the current government, Moudud said: “It is not true as after assuming the office the government held 48 upazila polls. Of them, 15 were postponed due to vote rigging allegation.”
