Jukta Front, Jatiya Oikya Prokria forge ‘greater national unity’

Jatiya Oikya Prokriya of Dr Kamal Hossain and Jukta Front of former president AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury on Saturday forged alliance to contest the coming polls together, keeping ‘greater national unity’ in view to launch a united movement to realize common demands and objectives.
Jukta Front leader and Nagorik Oikya convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna read out a written declaration at a news conference at the National Press Club in the presence of Dr Kamal but B Chowdhury was absent due to ‘illness’. 
The declaration set five condition for holding free, fair and credible elections and set nine goals for the restoration of democracy, transparency, accountability, good governance and equal justice for all.
Jukta Front combines B Chowdhury’s Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh, JSD led by ASM Abdur Rob and Nagorik Oikya led by Mannan.
Jatiya Oikya Prokriya combines Gonoforum led by Dr Kamal Hossain and Forward Party led by ABM Mostofa Amin.
The declaration termed the incumbent government as ‘unelected’ lacking public support.
The declaration said that the unelected government was using terror, arrests, false cases and the police to continue its rule.
It said that the incumbent regime snatched people’s political, democratic and voting rights to keep the other parties enjoying people’s support out of power.
It accused the incumbent regime of taking the evil tactics of using Electronic Voting Machines to stay in power by manipulating election results.
It said that people’s right to vote, fundamental and constitutional rights were snatched using terrorism, murders, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, mass arrests and oppressive tactics.
The declaration said that the entire state machinery including the legislature, the judiciary and the executive branch was now controlled by a one person autocracy to snatch people’s rights.
The declaration demanded election under a neutral government, dissolution of Parliament before election, level playing field for all political parties in the coming polls.
It demanded, none in the election time government should be allowed to contest in the polls.
It demanded reconstituting the Election Commission with acceptable personalities.
It demanded restoration of freedom of expression, newspapers, TV channels, social media and the rights of all the political parties to hold rallies and public meetings in the interest of holding free, fair and acceptable elections.
The declaration opposed the use EVMs in the coming general election, withdrawal of all the false cases against quota movement leaders, road safety protesters as well as political activists and a moratorium on arresting political activists until the polls were over.
It also demanded to deployment of army with magistracy power 30days before and 10 days after the elections and restoration of the EC’s power to deploy and control of the law enforcement agencies.
The declaration set the goal of bringing authoritarian governance system to an end, introduce checks and balance in the powers of the president and the prime minister, establish corruption-free, efficient and accountable administration, restore positive politics by ending politics of vengeance.
It also set the goal restoring discipline in banks and financial institutions and forging national unity against extremism, terrorism and sectariansm.
The declaration said that there would be no place for anti-liberation force in the initiative for greater national unity. 
Kamal Hossain said that free, fair and credible national elections were needed to restore the rights of the citizens, the owners of the country.
JSD president ASM Abdur Rob called the incumbent government as autocratic.
Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh organizing secretary Omar Faruque and Ganasasthya Kendra founder Zafrullah Chowdhury were present.
Earlier, the leaders left the Press Club on foot for the Central Shaheed Minar to place wreaths but abandoned their trek after going 50 metres saying they had been denied permission to proceed.
Dhaka University proctor AKM Golam Rabbani told New Age that the permission to go to the Shaheed Minar had been denied as the DU’s admission tests were in progress.
 

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net