The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday accused the Awami League of rigging votes in the Supreme Court Bar Association elections and branded the ruling party as a ‘pathological thief’.
‘Their [AL’s] only aim is to indulge in theft. We usually call them vote thieves. They rigged votes in the national elections and even in union parishad polls. Now they have rigged votes in the Supreme Court and Dhaka Bar. In fact, they are pathological thieves,’ he said.
The two-day voting in SCBA elections started around 10:00 am on Wednesday, but it was suspended immediately after some pro-BNP lawyers staged demonstrations, demanding the formation of an election conducting committee led by a neutral person.
Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader added that the Awami League was doing nothing but stealing. ‘They make their living stealing and it is their profession and addiction. They also depleted the country’s resources through theft,’ he said.
Mirza Fakhrul alleged that the ruling party had destroyed the country’s power sector by indulging in widespread stealing.
Regarding the SCBA polls, Fakhrul said that there was a ruckus in the Supreme Court after false and stamped ballot papers were found there on Tuesday night, the night before the election.
‘They (pro-AL lawyers) assaulted our seven-time elected Supreme Court Bar secretary Mahbubuddin Khokon and wounded him,’ Fakhrul alleged.
He also said that a case was filed against 1,000 pro-BNP lawyers, including Khokon, over the incident.
‘What country do we live in now? Where have we brought this country to? Awami League has to answer the people for this. They have taken this country to extreme destruction. They have destroyed all our culture, traditions and democratic values. They have destroyed all our democratic institutions,’ the BNP leader lamented.
The discussion programme was arranged at the National Press Club auditorium marking the launching of a book titled ‘Amar Rajnitir Rojnamcha’ written by BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain.
Fakhrul said that the Awami League does not believe in justice, fairness and democracy. ‘That is why they established one-party BKSAL rule in 1975 by destroying democracy and shutting down all newspapers and dissenting opinions.’
He feared that Mosharraf’s book Amar Rajnitir Rojnamcha would be banned by the current Awami League regime.
The BNP leader said that various media outlets, including Bangladesh Times, Bichitra, Channel 1, Islamic TV and Diganta TV were shut down during the rules of the Awami League. ‘But this party again claims that they have given democracy an institutional shape.’
He said that the country’s people had turned their backs on the present government as they were now unable to buy rice, lentils, salt, eggs and other daily essentials due to unusual hikes in their prices.
Fakhrul also said that 42 per cent of people in Bangladesh were now living below the poverty line while 80 per cent of people could not eat protein like beef, chicken, mutton and fish.
‘But in this country, they have frequently increased the prices of electricity and gas.’
He said that the government was now going to take advance income tax, as the coffers had got exhausted.
‘They (AL leaders) are stealing from the banks and the reserves. The people of the country have woken up to defeat this regime through a movement.’
Mosharraf said that he wrote the book to share his long experiences, thoughts and actions as a university teacher and a politician.
‘Politicians of our country can hardly manage time to write books, as they remain so busy with politics. I got some time while in jail and used it for writing the book. I did it for the present and future generations. I strongly believe it will be useful to them.’
