Jatiya Party chairman GM Quader on Saturday said that the government could not avoid responsibility for foreign minister AK Abdul Momen’s recent statement on seeking India’s help to keep Sheikh Hasina in power.
‘Such a statement has also embarrassed our neighbouring friendly country India. It also brought into question the sovereignty of the country,’ he said.
GM Quader made the remarks while exchanging greetings with the leaders and prominent personalities of the Hindu community on the occasion of Janmashtami at the Jatiya Party chairman’s Banani office.
Earlier at a Janmashtami programme in Chattogram on Thursday, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen reportedly said that he urged the Indian government to back prime minister Sheikh Hasina so that she could stay in power.
According to Hindu scriptures, the Jatiya Party chief said, ‘Lord Krishna appeared on this earth to protect the righteous and annihilate the wicked.’ ‘But protecting the wicked and suppressing the virtuous is now going on in our country. Not only the minority communities are leaving the country but also the Muslims are now leaving the country being subjected to social, economic and political discrimination,’ he said.
‘The honest persons now can’t get jobs and the idealistic persons can’t do business,’ he said.
GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, said, ‘Many people are leaving the country and going to other countries in order to survive.’ ‘A reign of corruption has been established in the country. Ideals and justice are being washed away by the tsunami of corruption,’ he added.
He said that the government could take initiatives to formulate the Minority Protection Act and form the Minority Commission.
GM Quader said that their party founder HM Ershad ensured equal rights for all religions alongside making Islam the state religion.
He said that huge money was being siphoned off abroad from Bangladesh every year through corruption. ‘Corruption is rampant in every sector due to lack of accountability. If anyone criticises corruption, the government considers him/her as conspiratorial and anti-state element,’ he added.
The Jatiya Party chief said that criticism must be tolerated and accountability must be ensured to govern the country properly.
GM Quader said that the government used to dismiss it as a ridiculous matter when the issue of extrajudicial killings was raised. ‘As a result, we are known to the world as a state of liars,’ he said.
Stating that the electoral system of the country has collapsed, he said that people needed to have the scope to elect their representatives by exercising voting rights in elections.
