The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, on the occasion of the 88th anniversary of birth of the party founder Ziaur Rahman on Friday, renewed its vow to ‘restore’ democracy through street movement in the country.
Party standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan said that the BNP together with the people will restore democracy by toppling the current regime through a street movement with fresh programmes.
He came up with the remarks while talking to journalists after leaders and activists of the BNP and its associate bodies, led by the party standing committee members, paid homage to its founder, Ziaur Rahman, by placing wreaths at his grave at Shar-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital, marking his 88th birth anniversary.
He said that the country’s people do not support the autocracy of the ruling Awami League government, which has unjustly arrested the BNP leaders and activists, including Begum Khaleda Zia, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Mirza Abbas, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal.
The democracy restored by Ziaur Rahman has again been destroyed by the Awami League government.
‘Ziaur Rahman brought back democracy by ending the despotic rule of BKSAL, while Khaleda Zia restored democracy by ending Ershad’s military dictatorship,’ Nazrul said.
‘On the birth anniversary of Ziaur Rahman, we take a fresh vow that we will restore democracy as soon as possible with the help of the democracy-loving people of this country,’ he said.
As his attention was drawn to the ministers’ comments opposing the Transparency International Bangladesh’s statement on the January 7 election, Nazrul Islam Khan said, ‘Who didn’t say that this election was not fair? Everyone said that the election was not fair. So what TIB has said is the reflection of public opinion.’
Earlier on Wednesday, the TIB described the January 7 election as a one-sided one that was staged to appear competitive.
Another standing committee member, Abdul Moyeen Khan told reporters that the nation was celebrating late president Ziaur Rahman’s birthday in a moment when democracy is dead in Bangladesh.
He said, ‘The people of the country, the democratic countries, and human rights organisations around the world are saying in one word that Bangladesh has become a state of one-party rule’.
The BNP leader said that people in Bangladesh now do not have basic and democratic rights, including the right to vote and freedom of expression.
The BNP also arranged a prayer session and milad mahfil on Friday at the party chairperson’s office in Gulshan in Dhaka, marking the day.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police did not allow Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student body of the BNP, to hold a procession in front of the party’s Naya Paltan central office, marking the anniversary of birth of Ziaur Rahman on Friday afternoon.
Protesting against the police obstruction, leaders and activists of the Dhaka east unit JCD brought out a procession in the Shantinagar area on Friday afternoon, led by unit convener Sheikh Khalid Hasan.
The BNP and its associated bodies celebrated the 88th anniversary of birth of its founder Ziaur Rahman on the day with various other programmes, including discussions and warm clothes distribution.
To mark the day, the party flag was hoisted atop all of its offices across the country in the morning.
Born on January 19, 1936 at Bagbari in Bogura, Ziaur Rahman founded the BNP in 1978 and became the country’s seventh president.
