Usurping power, AL govt showing arrogance: Rizvi

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged on Tuesday that the Awami League government is showing its arrogance after usurping power through last month’s ‘dummy’ election.

“They (the government) are now showing their arrogance after the farcical dummy election held on January 7, which was turned down by the country’s people. They’re also trying to flaunt the power they’ve usurped from people,” he said.

He came up with the remarks before distributing BNP’s leaflets in Dhaka's Fakirapool as part of the party’s fresh programme demanding the cancellation of the 12th parliamentary polls and a fresh election under a non-partisan government.

The BNP leader said the country’s people have woken up against the government to ensure its fall through a united movement.

“We all must take to the streets together in the movement to demand the cancellation of the dummy election...We have started the leaflet distribution programme with that goal,” he said.

Referring to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent comment that there were many crackdowns on the army and many were sent to the gallows during the tenure of Ziaur Rahman, Rizvi said their party founder did everything through a legal process against those who worked against the army.

“But you (PM) have made military officers disappear. Where is Brigadier General Abdullahil Amaan Azmi? He was subjected to enforced disappearance during the tenure of your government,” he said.

He said that the Awami League government killed about 20,000 leaders and workers of (Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal) JSD and other opposition parties and dissidents in 1972-1975. “Similarly, countless opposition leaders and workers have been killed during the tenure of this regime. Many people, including Ilias Ali and Chowdhury Alam, have been made to forcibly disappear.”

Later, Rizvi, along with some party leaders and activists, distributed leaflets among the pedestrians, shop owners, transport workers, and rickshaw pullers in the area.

The leaflet titled ‘Save the country, save the people’ demanded the cancellation of the January 7 one-sided by-election, the resignation of the Sheikh Hasina government, and the establishment of an impartial election commission under a caretaker government, and the release of jailed BNP leaders and activists, including its Chairperson, Begum Khaleda Zia.

As part of the party’s countrywide programme, BNP leaders and workers distributed leaflets in all metropolitan cities on Tuesday, also mounting pressure on the government to reduce the prices of essential commodities.

BNP on Sunday announced a six-day fresh programme, including mass contact and leaflet distribution, across the country beginning Tuesday.