BNP senior leader Moudud Ahmed on Friday said the government is deceiving people by talking about formation of an election-time government in mid-October as there is no such provision in the current Constitution.
“There’s no provision in our Constitution for the formation of any election time-administration. The government is talking about it to confuse people. It’s nothing but a deception,” he said.
The BNP leader came up with the remarks while speaking at a discussion arranged by Bangladesh Youth Forum, a pro-BNP platform, at the Jatiya Press Club.
Moudud, a BNP standing committee member, said the then BNP government in 1996 included the provision of election-time interim government in the Constitution through the 13th amendment.
“But you (govt) revoked the polls-time interim government system through the 15th amendment to the Constitution. “So, you are now trying to mislead people and create confusion among them by talking about the formation of an election-time government.”
The BNP leader said there will be no difference between the current government and the government’s proposed election-time small cabinet as it will be formed with the same people who are now in the current cabinet.
Referring to ruling party leaders’ comments that the election-time small cabinet will only do routine works, he said no such provision is also there in the current Constitution.
“They also say the Election Commission will exercise the executive power during the polls. Where have you found such a provision in the Constitution? It is not written in the Constitution that the executive power will go to the Election Commission during the polls. These are their false statements.”
As per the current Constitution, the police, administration and judiciary will remain under the government during the election.
Moudud said the government wants BNP to take part in the election under it to ensure the ruling party’s victory.
He alleged there is no atmosphere in the country for holding a fair and credible election as the ruling party is unilaterally carrying out election campaign while BNP leaders and activists are busy facing ‘false ‘ cases.
“They (AL) need not to take any permission for their programmes as they can hold it anywhere anytime as per their wish. Even, they can hold rallies at rail stations.”
The BNP leader said a level-playing field must be created for holding the polls in a fair and credible manner. “The attitude of the government would have been different had it wanted a fair election.”
Terming the government an autocratic one, he said it is very difficult to remove a despotic government. ‘Creating unity among people is the only way to ensure the fall of an autocratic regime.”
Mentioning that their party is working to create a national unity together with all other political parties, Moudud said there is good progress in it.
He said the national unity must be forged as most political parties, including the left ones, want democracy, the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, people’s basic rights and voting rights to be restored. So, a unity is already there among the political parties. We’ll have to now consolidate it and take it forward.”
Moudud said they will create such a situation through forging the national unity that the government will be forced to accept their all demands and hold the next polls in a credible manner.
Meanwhile, BNP’s senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi claimed that their party’s around three lakh leaders and activists have been implicated in 3,000 ‘ghostly’ cases since September 1 last.
Speaking at a press conference at the party’s Nayapaltan central office, he also said over 3,500 leaders and activists of their party and its associate bodies have also been arrested during the period.
source: UNB
