Jatiya Party chairman Ghulam Muhammed Quader said on Saturday that the general election held on January 7 was not credible.
‘The election would have been held even if our party had not participated as the Awami League government had preparations to take the Jatiya Party to the election,’ GM Quader said at the day-long extended meeting of the party held at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, auditorium in Ramna.
GM Quader, also the leader of the opposition, said that the country would face a critical situation if their party would not take part in the election.
‘The BNP has made a mistake by not participating in the election and now they are blaming us for joining in the election,’ GM Quader said at the opening session of the extended meeting of the party.
GM Quader said that the ruling Awami League had lost its political character and it was not giving the BNP and other opposition political parties the opportunity to wage movements against the government.
The ruling Awami League is trying to form a single party, Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League, again, he said.
He said, ‘The Awami League did not keep its commitment to our party not to field its candidates in 26 seats and I took a decision to boycott the election on December 17, but that was not possible for us due to direct and indirect pressure of the Awami League.’
The opening session was followed by a closed-door extended meeting where chairman of the party, GM Quader, secretary general Mujibul Haque Chunnu, co-chairman ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader, co-chairman Salma Islam, presidium members Mohammad Hafizul Islam, Mohammad Rezaul Islam Bhuiyan, Mostafa Al Mahmud, Jahirul Islam Jahir, Jahirul Alam Rubel and others were present.
More than 30 district leaders spoke at the extended meeting and they expressed dissatisfaction over the role of the Awami League before the last general election, the party sources said.
They hoped that the Jatiya Party should revamp the organisational strength and work for taking part in the next general election independently.
