No dialogue before AL resigns: BNP

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Thursday said that elections should be held under a non-partisan government regardless of what was called, a caretaker or neutral government, and the party would not join any dialogue before the government resigned.

‘Before any dialogue, this government must resign. This announcement should be made by the government first. And it should resign. Unless it happens, there is no question of dialogue,' BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said at a press conference at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office in Dhaka.

The press conference preceded a meeting between the BNP and the 12-party alliance about simultaneous movements.

‘We are agitating to restore people’s rights, the right to speak, and freedom of speech. Since coming to power, this government has destroyed all Bangladesh's achievements, he added.

He said that the movement had already reached its final stage.

‘The Awami League government is planning to hold an election this year unilaterally. This country's people will never accept fraudulent elections. We want to clearly state that no election will be fair under this illegal Awami League government. The people of this country will not accept it,' he added.

He said that they would jointly announce a declaration with other parties before going to the final movement.

In response to a question from journalists, Fakhrul said, ‘We do not want to go to dialogue in any format. Whatever a supervisor or a neutral says? Elections should be held under a non-partisan government. Before that, this government must resign. This announcement should be made by the government first. And it should resign. Apart from this, no question of dialogue will arise.’

In response to another question, he said that if the Awami League came to power again in elections under a non-partisan, neutral government, the BNP would welcome it.

Fakhrul said that the next election was important. The nation's existence will depend on this election.

‘It depends on the election if the nation will have independence or not. That is why we say the election must be held under a non-partisan, neutral government. The government must resign,’ he said.

BNP standing committee member Selima Rahman and vice-chairman Abdul Awal Mintoo were present on behalf of BNP at the meeting with the 12-party alliance.

On behalf of the 12-party alliance, Jatiya Party faction chairman Mustafa Jamal Haider and Bangladesh Kalyan Party chairman Muhammad Ibrahim were present, among others.

News Courtesy:

https://www.newagebd.net/article/205922/no-dialogue-before-al-resigns-bnp