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BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan has questioned the police’s need to meet with the city councillors ahead of the 12th parliamentary elections.
He also asked, “Why do they need a dummy candidate to usher people to the polling stations?”
On Tuesday, Nazrul and other BNP leaders were distributing leaflets from Dhaka’s Motijheel to Dilkusha road to call for an election boycott, reports bdnews24.com.
Earlier, Dhaka Police Commissioner Habibur Rahman called Dhaka’s city councillors for a ‘law and order meeting’ on Monday.
Habibur told reporters, “Voting or abstaining from voting is a democratic right. But preventing people from voting is not a democratic right. It is the constitutional responsibility of citizens to prevent transgressions by those who try to foil the elections.”
In response to Habibur’s comments, Nazrul said that the people have no interest in voting because they know there is no meaning to it.
“The people will not go to the polls. The country’s economy is drowning, and the banks are in dire straits. At the same time, the government is spending thousands of crores to conduct an illegal election.”
“No matter where you cast your ballot, you will be voting for the Awami League. It will either be a boat candidate, nine dummy candidates or a rebel candidate of the Awami League,” he added.
Drawing attention to the BNP’s boycott, Nazrul said that the party wants an election where the people can choose their own representatives.
“We want to stop this election for this reason,” he said.
Nazrul also underscored the current situation of BNP leaders, who are being imprisoned amid the opposition’s frequent calls for shutdowns throughout the country.
“They are not being able to feed themselves or secure jobs. They have no security. We must speak up against this oppression,” said Nazrul.
The BNP and like-minded parties have been distributing leaflets among the public in various areas of the capital’s Rampura, Jatrabari, and Dhanmondi areas prior to the polls.