Staff Reporter:
BNP Standing Committee Member AZM Zahid Hossain has urged the government to announce the election roadmap immediately, showing respect to the people’s demand for vote.
People want to exercise their franchise as they were denied voting rights over the past 17 years and thus the government should announce the election roadmap without any further delay, he said.
While addressing a programme held at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Friday, Zahid, also a personal physician of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, blamed the interim government for prolonging the national election on various pretexts.
The discussion was organised with a call to ensure the participation of remittance warriors in the next general election, their due dignities and to protect their hard-earned assets.
“At least, our one crore remittance earners are now staying in different countries in the world, but they are denied voting rights,” he said, garnering the attention of the chief adviser.
A reform initiative is going on under the leadership of Chief Adviser Prof Mohammad Yunus, he said, calling upon the interim administration to bring the remittance fighters under the electoral process.
BSS adds: Zahid said Awami League must face the consequences of its misdeeds during its rule, particularly in the 2024 July Uprising.
“The consensus that united students and citizens in the movement must be preserved and the Awami League must face the consequences for its misdeeds,” he said.
He stressed the importance of the unity forged during the July mass upsurge and highlighted the struggles of nearly 10 million Bangladeshi expatriates in supporting the student-led movement.
Zahid praised the contributions of remittance earners and noted that late President Ziaur Rahman was the first to formally recognise their contributions.
“Ziaur Rahman should be remembered not only as a freedom fighter but also as a lifelong contributor to national development,” he said.
He also paid tribute to students who lost their lives during the July Uprising, acknowledging their sacrifice as key to the current democratic discourse.
MA Malik, President of UK BNP and advisor to the party chairperson, said that the former Hasina-led government had unlawfully seized expatriates’ homes, particularly in Sylhet.
He urged the interim government to ensure protection of expatriate property and voting rights.
The discussion was chaired by Jahangir Alam Mintu, coordinator of Probashi Poribar 24.
UK BNP Vice President M. Zakaria, Mahmudullah Mamun, Barrister Obaidur Rahman Tipu, and Advocate Parvez, among others, spoke at the event.
