BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday alleged that the government decision to hold the next general election without dissolving the parliament and the cabinet is part of a conspiracy to overstay in power.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the decision on Monday saying that the polls would be held within the last 90 days of the parliament’s tenure, which ends on January 24.
“The prime minister’s comments has not only disappointed the people of the country, but also made them worried,” Fakhrul said while addressing a press briefing after a meeting with the secretary generals of the 18-party alliance.
“There is no example in the whole world of holding an election without dissolving the parliament. We and the countrymen want a non-partisan government during election time,” the BNP leader said.
He alleged that the government is trying to create the “infamous Baksal” again in a different dimension through amending the constitution.
“The 18-party alliance will not tolerate this,” he said.
Fakhrul also denounced the detention of Mufti Mohammad Wakkas, a Hefajat-e Islam leader and also secretary general of Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam, which is one of the components of the 18-party alliance.
Detective Branch of police picked up Wakkas from Malibagh in the capital Monday.
“Cases against him (Wakkas) are politically motivated. We condemn detention of an Islami scholar and a former minister like him,” he said.
Fakhrul said the cabinet’s approval to a proposed amendment to the electoral roll law, which bars convicted war criminals from being registered as voters, is completely illegal.
He further said that appeals against the verdict in the war crimes trial remain pending at the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
“We are demanding a halt on the cabinet decision until the Appellate Division passes orders on the appeals,” he said.
Fakhrul sat with the secretary generals on Tuesday to finalise preparations for holding rallies in seven divisional districts and Narsingdi from September 8 as part of its anti-government movement.
