Government established ‘electoral autocracy’: BNP

Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Sunday alleged that the government has destroyed all the democratic institutions intentionally to establish ‘electoral autocracy’ in the country.

Addressing separate programmes marking the International Day of Democracy in Dhaka, the party leaders also demanded immediate and unconditional release of the party’s chairperson Khaleda Zia who in jail since February 8, 2018, the day when she was sentenced in a graft case which BNP leaders term false and fabricated.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, addressing a press conference at the party chairperson’s office at Gulshan in Dhaka, said ‘the government established “electoral autocracy”. They have been holding election but practically exercising autocracy.’

‘On this very International Day of Democracy, we urge the people to come forward to establish a liberal democratic state with the spirit of liberation war and democracy through united struggle and to free Khaleda Zia and democracy,’ he said.

He said BNP founder Ziaur Rahman introduced multi-party democracy and Khaleda Zia re-established parliamentary democracy in the country.

The BNP secretary general said for past 10 years, the country was witnessing severe political anarchy while opposition party leaders and activists were facing attacks, oppression, murder, fictitious cases and enforced disappearances.

‘Over one lakh cases were filed against about 26 lakh opposition activists during the period,’ he said.

‘Enforced disappearance, murders, extrajudicial killings and custodial deaths continued in the country,’ he said.

He mentioned that the US, regarding the human rights situation in Bangladesh, recently said that Bangladesh was witnessing murders, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance, illegal detention, threatening environment in jails, setting CCTV camera on imprisoned persons, bar on peaceful gatherings, cyber security act, snatching freedom of press and keeping opposition leader Khaleda Zia in jail.

BNP standing committee members Khandakar Mosharrof Hossain, Abdul Moyeen Khan and Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury were also present at the press conference.

Earlier in the afternoon, BNP and its fronts brought out a procession from the party’s central office at Naya Paltan in Dhaka and met in a brief rally at the same place after parading the adjacent streets.

Addressing the rally, BNP senior joint-secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged that the government was involved in corruption and looting the public money.

He said the ailing and aged party chairperson Khaleda Zia was in jail in a false and fabricated case and demanded immediate release of Khaleda saying that she deserved bail.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net