Govt kills prospective AL candidates to foil polls
"The government has begun killing political leadership through grenade attacks. They have killed many of our MPs and tried to kill me through grenade attack on August 21, 2004. And now they are killing our party's probable candidates as they don't want election," said Hasina while inaugurating a photo exhibition at Road No 32 in Dhanmondi in the capital.
Bangabandhu Lalitakala Academy organised the exhibition on glorious life of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Trust.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. A total of 2200 photos on Bangabandhu and War of Liberation were on display at the exhibition which will remain open for all till 6:00pm of August 31.
Regarding the holding of next general election in a free and fair manner, Hasina said they (BNP-Jamaat) want nothing but to make farce in the name of polls.
Hasina, also Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, said as the coalition came to power through stealing votes and rigging 2001 election, they do not want to accept reform proposals fearing that they won't get people's mandate this time.
"The BNP-Jamaat wants to steal votes and rig the next election only to soak up thousands of crores of taka looted from people," said the AL president.
Referring to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's recent speech that the AL does not want election, Hasina said it is not the AL but the BNP has been conspiring not to hold the election by misleading people through falsehood.
She said the BNP always came to power through backdoor, gunpoint or vote rigging.
Hasina asserted that the alliance government will have to accept reforms in caretaker government and Election Commission (EC) within its tenure to hold the election in free and fair manner.
"Whatever tactics of dillydallying they [alliance government] may pursue with the reform proposals to foil the election, they shall have to accept the proposals," said the former prime minister.
The AL chief also blamed the BNP-Jamaat-led coalition for distorting the country's glorious history to achieve its heinous design.
Thanking the organisers of the photo exhibition, Hasina urged them to organise such exhibition at district and upazila headquarters to make people aware of the glorious history of the liberation war and life of Bangabandhu who led the nation to its independence.
Academy Advisor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, President MA Khaer, General Secretary Zahid Hossain, Prof Harun-or-Rashid, AL leaders Obaidul Quader, Subed Ali Bhuiyan, Yafes Osman, Shahara Khatun and Reza Kibria were present on the occasion.
Earlier, Hasina went to Zia International Airport to see off her sister Sheikh Rehana who flew for London.
In the afternoon, she went to Labaid Cardiac Hospital to see her ailing husband Dr Wajed Miah, a noted nuclear scientist, who has been suffering from cardiac arrest since Friday night.