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BNP Standing Committee Member Nazrul Islam Khan on Monday vehemently rejected a speculation that their party is trying to rehabilitate Awami League, saying BNP would not compromise with AL under any circumstances.
“Will anyone make a compromise with the Awami League while we are alive? We are not going to do it… and if anyone else tries, we’ll resist them too. There is no point in doing such an absurd thing (rubbish campaign),” he said while addressing a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club, UNB reports.
The 12-party alliance arranged the discussion titled ‘Resist the conspiracy to disrupt election and remove barriers to the return of Tarique Rahman’.
Nazrul said some are trying to carry out propaganda that BNP wants to rehabilitate Awami League. “Just think once that this is the party (AL) whose government is responsible for the most disappearances and killings of BNP leaders and activists,” he said.
He said the AL government kept BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia behind bars for six years on a false charge, blocked Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman’s return to the country, crippled him, and his brother died in Malaysia without treatment.
“Is there a single BNP leader, including our secretary general, who doesn’t face at least 50 cases?” he added.
Nazrul questioned the delay in holding parliamentary elections by December when the reform charter is set to be finalised within the next one and a half months.
Citing that Vice Chairman of the National Consensus Commission Ali Riaz said the initial round of dialogue is almost complete and they will move to the second phase this month, the BNP leader questioned how long it would take to prepare a charter by enlisting the points of consensus. “It would take a maximum of one to one and half a month (to prepare the July Charter). Not more than that,” he said.
Nazrul Islam said the reforms that are possible to be executed through ordinances could be done quickly and the rest of the reform recommendations could be left for the next parliament. “So, what is your (interim government) barrier to holding the election by December?” he asked.
He reiterated BNP’s stance on electoral reform, saying, “We would like to say clearly that we definitely want the reforms that are essential and possible as well as all the reforms without which a fair, free and impartial election is not possible."
Nazrul Islam said they also want the power of the people to be returned to the hands of the people as soon as possible, so that a government elected by the people is established, which would be responsible and accountable to the people.
Presided over by 12-party alliance coordinator and Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar) Chairman Mustafa Jamal Haider, the discussion was addressed, among others, by LDP’s Shahadat Hossain Selim, Jatiya Dal’s Syed Ehsanul Huda and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s Mufti Mohiuddin Ekram.