With the next parliamentary election a year away, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked people to choose between the ‘continuation of dignified life’ under the Awami League and ‘tyranny’ under the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami.
In her televised address to the nation on the eve of Victory Day, the premier alleged the BNP-Jamaat nexus was conspiring to usurp power after being shunned by voters, reports bdnews24.com.
Hasina said on Thursday that a state of emergency was declared in 2007 due to the BNP’s “corruption, terrorism and misrule” after the party “tried to hold elections with 12.3 million fake voters”.
“They [BNP] got only 30 seats out of 300 as people rejected them in the 2008 polls. People didn’t support the BNP and the Jamaat in 2014 and 2018. Now they are involved in a conspiracy to usurp power in an undemocratic way.”
Hasina said democracy has prevailed in the country since 2009 after the Awami League returned to power. “People’s voting rights have been ensured. This is why Bangladesh has earned the dignity of a developing country. Bangladesh couldn’t have developed much had the BNP-Jamaat Alliance been in power.
“Now, it’s up to the people to choose what they want – the continuation of a dignified life or a life with the tyranny of the BNP-Jamaat Alliance?”
The prime minister said Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had banned the collaborators of the Pakistani army from Bangladesh’s politics.
But BNP founder Ziaur Rahman rehabilitated the Jamaat after usurping power following the assassination of the father of the nation.
“After rehabilitation, they [Jamaat] resumed the politics of killings and terrorism.”
Hasina said the BNP was also involved in killings. She alleged Zia was directly linked to the murder of Bangabandhu.
The BNP founder was also involved with the killings of thousands of members of the armed forces to perpetuate his regime, the prime minister said.
After Zia’s wife Khaleda Zia came to power, militants formed groups in Bangladesh with the direct backing of the BNP, Hasina alleged.
She said the BNP leadership orchestrated the Aug 21, 2004 grenade attack targeting her and killed 22 leaders and activists of the Awami League.
The party carried out arson attacks on public transport from 2013 to 2015, killing hundreds of innocent people, according to Hasina.
“Their chairperson [Khaleda] is convicted of embezzling an orphanage’s money. Another top leader [Khaleda’s son Tarique Rahman] is convicted in the 10-truck arms smuggling and the Aug 21 grenade attack cases. Why would people vote for them?”
