Staff Reporter:
BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has said that the students must fight for their right to vote just as they are fighting for quota reform.
“They must fight for democracy,” Amir Khashru said while addressing a discussion held at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka on Friday.
He alleged that the government does not want to see Bangladesh as a country of talent. “Talented individuals might not be favourable for a fascist government,” he added.
Ganatantra Mancha organised the discussion on the first anniversary of the announcement of the 31-point agenda and one-point demand as part of the simultaneous movement by different like-minded opposition parties.
Claiming that the country’s ownership has been hijacked, the BNP leader highlighted the necessity of unity among political parties to retrieve the proprietorship of the country.
“The ownership of the people has been hijacked. To restore it, political unity and a new political arrangement are essential,” Amir Khashru added.
He also spoke of the need for comprehensive changes to ensure the constitution, judiciary, parliament, and economic systems guarantee public participation. “That’s why we have drafted the 31-point plan,” he said.
Referring to the unity among BNP and like-minded parties, Amir Khashru noted, “There is no doubt about the unity among the like-minded parties. We had to make significant efforts to achieve this unity. We need to bring the 31-point plan to the people.”
Presiding over the programme, Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolon and coordinator pf Gonomoncho, said, “The 31-point plan outlines the vision for a democratic Bangladesh. Various sectors of society are awakening, and these struggles are intensifying.”
About the quota reform movement, he said, “The government has conspiratorially forced the students to stand against the judiciary. People expect the opposition parties to lead a large-scale movement to oust this government.”
The speakers at the event said that their one-point movement is continuing and that the movement has entered a new phase following the 7 January election.
They assured that the opposition parties would soon announce the kind of programs against the government that the public expects to see.
