BNP always came to power through 'backdoor'

Awami League President and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Sheikh Hasina speaks at a discussion at Engineers' Institution auditorium in the city yesterday. AL organised the discussion to mark the National Mourning Day. PHOTO: STAR

The four party coalition government of BNP-Jamaat does not want to accept electoral reforms as they do not want a free, fair and neutral election in the country, Hasina, also Awami League (AL) President said. "They (BNP-Jamaat) know very well that the people would not vote them in the upcoming election and this is why they are wavering over whether to accept the reform proposals or not".

On the fateful night of August 15 in 1975, some disgruntled army officers assassinated the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with most of his family members.

Addressing the discussion, the senior leaders of the AL-led 14-party opposition combine recalled Bangabandhu's memory and vowed to execute the verdict of the Bangabandhu murder case as adopted in their 23-point common national programme if they are elected to form a government. They also vowed to resist any election in the country without reforms in the caretaker government and the Election Commission (EC) systems.

The 14-party leaders blamed the anti liberation war forces for killing Bangabandhu and spoke of ousting the present coalition government and form a pro-people government.

The AL chief said the BNP-Jamaat alliance government wants to come back to power through a blueprint-election. Hasina termed the BNP-Jamaat government as 'Jatiyatabadi Jamaat Paribar' and alleged that they have plundered TK 2,86,000 crore out of the poverty-stricken people and pocketed hundreds of crores of taka through essentials' price hike.

The former prime minister Hasina questioned Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's confidence about winning the next election since she (Khaleda) is trying to get HM Ershad's support -- whom Khaleda once accused for killing her husband Ziaur Rahman.

Khaleda Zia is hungry for power and wealth and she had received two houses in Dhaka from Ershad, Hasina accused. "Now she is patronising militants for power again".

The opposition leader reiterated that the alliance government has created the militants and are still patronising them. She also accused the present regime for all bomb blasts and grenade attacks including the August 21 attack on an AL rally.

The AL president said BNP kills people for power and protects the killers. Hasina, the eldest daughter of Bangabandhu, paid tributes to her father, mother and other family members who were killed on August 15 night of 1975, and said Ziaur Rahman gave indemnity to the killers of Bangabandhu only to save them and gave constitutional rights to the religious fundamentalist forces to do politics in the country.

Hasina sternly criticised Khaleda for her having several birth dates including August 15 and questioned her motive of celebrating birthday on the day when Bangabandhu was assassinated.

The Leader of the Opposition Hasina directed her party leaders to be with the people and pledged to sacrifice her life for establishing people's rights.

Senior leaders of the AL and its allies including Zillur Rahman, Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, Abdul Jalil, Suranjit Sengupta, Motia Chowdhury, Rashed Khan Menon, Hasanul Haque Inu, Dilip Barua, Zakir Hossain, Abdus Samad, MA Gani, Jahirul Islam, Aminul Islam Khan and Asaduzzaman Noor also spoke at the discussion.