BNP, its allies are out to create conflicts over polls: Quader

Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said BNP and its like-minded parties are hatching conspiracy to create conflicts over the next national election.

“So, they (BNP men) are busy with spreading rumours and hatching conspiracy,” he told a joint meeting with the presidents and general secretaries of Dhaka North and South City AL and AL’s affiliated bodies at the party’s Bangabandhu avenue central office in the capital.

Quader, also the Road Transport and Bridges Minister, said the BNP leaders are hatching plots to make the election arena increasingly chaotic and that is why they are instigating conflicts.

“At this moment, BNP and its like-minded parties are not going to voters but to their foreign masters,” he said.

He said the BNP leaders are immersed in dreams that their foreign masters are issuing sanctions on Bangladesh and announcing new visa policy for the country.

They are not lodging complaints to the country’s people but to foreigners, the AL general secretary said.

“Foreigners are our friends. So, there is nothing to do mastery here. BNP has many masters abroad. They lodge complaints with their masters, not their friends,” he added.

About the amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), Quader said the amendment is rational.

“If there is any chaos during elections, the polling of one or two centres can be canceled, but why will the entire election be canceled? It has been made clear in this RPO,” he said.

The road transport and bridges minister said such system is prevailing in other countries of the world too. “Why should Bangladesh be introducing it differently?” he questioned.

Replying to a question, he said the foreign friends should remain as friends. BNP has become desperate to go to power and it wants to capture the state power by any means, Quader said.

If the Awami League loses in polls, only it will be fair in BNP’s view, he said.

He said there was no irregularity and chaos in recently held local government elections and from that point of view, the light of hope centering polls is found in Bangladesh.

Quader said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has modernised and democratised the electoral system in Bangladesh, and its big proof is the establishment of independent Election Commission (EC) through a law.

Those who raise questions, spread rumours and hatch conspiracy over the country’s election system should take lessons from the reality, he said, suggesting them to keep their eyes on the election and electoral system of other democratic countries.

The minister said the way the city elections were conducted recently in a free, fair and peaceful manner, the next national elections will also be held in the same way.

“The government will not interfere here. The Sheikh Hasina government will perform routine works only,” he added.

AL Joint General Secretary and Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, AL Joint General Secretaries Mahbubul Alam Hanif and AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Organising Secretaries Ahmad Hossain, Abu Sayed Al Mahmud Swapan, SM Kamal Hossain, Adv Afzal Hossain and Sujit Roy Nandi, Publicity and Publication Secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap, Cultural Affairs Secretary Ashim Kumar Ukil, Liberation War Affairs Secretary Mrinal Kanti Das, Office Secretary Barrister Biplab Barua, Agriculture and Cooperatives Affairs Secretary Faridunnahar Laili, Information and Research Affairs Secretary Dr Selim Mahmud, Education and Human Resource Affairs Secretary Shamsun Nahar Chapa , Deputy Publicity and Publication Secretary Syed Abdul Awal Shamim and Deputy Office Secretary Sayem Khan were, among others, present. (BSS)