BNP senior leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain on Sunday said the country’s people do not believe Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina’s assertion that the next election will be fair.
"Going abroad, Sheikh Hasina said the next election will be fair. We don't believe it, nobody believes it and the people of this country don't believe it,” he said.
Speaking at a rally, the BNP leader also said the PM’s comment has manifested that the previous elections in 2014 and 2018 were not fair and were marred by vote rigging.
"We saw a government that was not formed by voters because there awee no candidates in 154 seats and people boycotted that election at the call of Begum Khaleda Zia. During the last election, the votes were robbed at night. In such a reality, no one believes her (PM’s) remark that the country will have a fair election,” he observed.
Gulshan zone of BNP’s Dhaka north city unit arranged the rally in Badda High School field in the capital protesting the price hike of fuel, daily essentials and the killing of four opposition leaders in Bhola and Narayanganj and Munshiganj in police firing.
Mosharraf, a BNP standing committee member, urged the government to quit immediately handing over power to a non-party caretaker government for holding a credible election.
He said a level-playing field for a fair election will be created if the voting is held under a non-party government and impartial election commission.
Mosharraf also said people will not allow anyone to rig votes by using electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the next polls. “The country’s people will elect their representatives by casting their votes with their own hands through ballots and their representatives will form the government.”
The BNP leader alleged that the prices of fuel and all essential items have gone up due to corruption and plundering by the ruling party leaders.
“We’re holding the rallies on an issue of 18 crore people of this country. This government has bankrupted Bangladesh by siphoning huge money abroad in the name of mega projects. People are struggling with the skyrocketing prices of essentials as the Awami business syndicate is controlling the price of commodities,” he said.
Stating that the country is facing a serious crisis, Mosharraf said it is a great responsibility of the BNP and other political parties to restore democracy through a movement together with the people. “We all have to take this responsibility. The country must be protected from this government by uniting all the democratic, nationalist and patriotic forces of the country.”
