Staff Reporter:
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday said people of the country will not accept an interim government staying for a long time to reform the state apparatus, and questioned the legality of some in the government forming a new political party.
The BNP leader made the remarks at a discussion session held on the issue of bicameral parliament on Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) office premises in the capital.
Some of the students, who organised a mass movement to oust the autocratic Awami League government on 5 August, have signalled an interest to form a new political party and give the people a third option on top of the usual Awami League-BNP duopoly in national elections.
Since the fall of AL administration, BNP men’s repeated engagement in extortion and illegal grabbing activities have emboldened the students’ case for forming their own party.
Some of the student movement leaders are now serving in the interim government to represent the revolutionary forces in policy meetings.
Without providing evidence, Fakhrul alleged that the students serving in the current government are also considering bringing out a student-led party.
Therefore, there is no way for the people to trust the interim government as impartial, he noted.
For ending these conspiracies against the July-Aug student-people movement, he urged the government to take immediate steps for holding national elections by undertaking minimum reform initiatives.
The government has to hold national elections at the earliest by transforming the Election Commission (EC) and making necessary changes in administrative and judicial structures for eradicating the lingering influence of ousted authoritarian forces.
These and some other measures are enough for holding a free and fair election, Fakhrul said adding other reform measures would take time, which the people will not accept.
If the interim government undertakes all the reform initiatives there would be no need for an elected parliament or the people, he highlighted adding the duty of amending or rewriting the constitution rests with elected lawmakers.
He also pointed to newspaper articles on a survey conducted by the BRAC Institute, which claims 80% of people support giving the interim government enough time to implement reform measures.
Fakhrul warned against creating confusions through such surveys, procedures of which were “unclear” to him.
Several groups and organisations have already initiated efforts to prolong the interim government’s tenure, Fakrul noted voicing concern over such efforts.
He also expressed shock at “misleading statements” made by highly educated individuals of the society in support of thorough reforms of state mechanisms being planned by the interim government.
Among the other reform intitiatives, he urged the government to withdraw the over 1,45,000 false cases filed against BNP leaders and activists during the Awami League regime, and compensation for the martyrs and injured of the July-Aug movement.
