Election, reforms both necessary: Tarique Rahman

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has said that when someone considers a person is essential then arbitrariness is created. The national parliament election is very necessary so that no one or group has the desire to continue the power. 

He said this at a virtual address to a grand rally held at BNP head office in Nayapaltan in the capital on the occasion of the May Day on Thursday. BNP’s affiliated body Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal organised the rally.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy and Nazrul Islam Khan, BNP leaders Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas and Sultan Salauddin Tuku, Krishak Dal President Hasan Zafir Tuhin, Mohila Dal President Afroza Abbas, Juba Dal President Abdul Monayem Munna, Swechchhasebak Dal President SM Jilani, Sramik Dal Dhaka City South convener Sumon Bhuiyan, among others, spoke.

Sramik Dal President Anwar Hossain presided over the rally.

Tarique said BNP believes state reforms and elections are equally important, adding the current interim government, despite its legitimate mandate, cannot be an alternative for an elected government.

The government must outline its long-term and short-term reform plans, and draft a specific roadmap for holding the next general election only after implementing the necessary reforms. The necessary reforms could be reforms in the law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, and the Election Commission, he suggested.

Then, the BNP senior leader referred to the ‘rumours’ that the interim government has granted a humanitarian corridor to Myanmar’s conflict-ridden Rakhine state for aid delivery from Bangladesh. The government did not inform the general people about such a sensitive issue, nor did it feel the need to hold consultations with political parties, which represent the people, over the matter.

He declined to start a debate over whether the government can take such decisions without informing the public. But the decision must come from a national parliament elected by the people. This is the norm in every sovereign country, Tarique noted.

Huge numbers of BNP leaders and activists gathered at Nayapaltan in Dhaka marking rally.

They came in small processions from different city wards and nearby districts, carrying red caps, T-shirts, colourful placards, and banners.

It began around 2:10pm with a recitation from the Holy Quran.