BNP senior leader Gayeshwar Chandra Roy on Friday urged the interim government to prioritise completing electoral reforms fast, as people will not wait indefinitely for the next national election.
“The interim government was tasked with the main issue of ensuring a credible election and restoring people’s voting rights.
However, it is focusing on other issues, straying from the primary problem,” he said.
Gayeshwar made the remarks at an introductory meeting of the Munshiganj District unit Nari O Shishu Odhikar Forum at the BNP’s Nayapaltan central office.
He expressed concern over various statements made by some advisers that have raised doubts about holding the election within a reasonable timeframe.
“We’ll say Alhamdulillah for everything you do, but it should have a time limit, and patience has a time limit. Create a quick outline of the election and then do the rest,” Gayeshwar said.
The BNP leader also pointed out that if the government attempts to address everything, nothing will succeed. "There is no need for new reforms, as the people won’t wait indefinitely for elections."
Stating that it is the responsibility of politicians to reform the state, he said the interim government should not take months after months for the reforms.
Gayeshwar noted that the BNP has already presented a 31-point reform outline which the government can review and engage in talks with political parties.
“Reforms should be based on consensus with political parties. Political problems need to be resolved by politicians,” he observed.
The BNP leader said that a plot of depoliticisation initiated during the 1/11 political changeover is still ongoing. "Politics has to be dealt with through politics.”
“If you (govt) think that only students put you in power, then you are wrong, and you’ll stumble. The anti-autocracy movement is the final outcome of years of agitation by people of all classes and professions,” he said.
In another programme, BNP Chairperson's advisory council member Zainul Abedin Farroque on Friday urged the interim government to promptly initiate the process of a fair election without delaying reforms as plots are on to destabilise the country.
"There is a conspiracy to weaken the interim government, which is disrupting the reform process. I urge Chief Advisor Dr Muhammad Yunus to stay vigilant about this,” he said.
Speaking at a sit-in programme, he also said the government should complete reforms to the Election Commission urgently based on the opinions of the political parties to start the election process.
The Senbagh Forum in Dhaka arranged the programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club, demanding the withdrawal of all cases filed against BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman.
Farroque also demanded that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India, be brought back to the country immediately.
He claimed that Sheikh Hasina, who is involved in the disappearances of Ilyas Ali and Chowdhury Alam in Bangladesh and the killings of many opposition leaders and activists, was seen walking around a park in Delhi under special security.
The BNP leader noted that a fallen dictator like Hasina walks in a park in Delhi, the capital of a country that once boasted to the world as a democratic nation.
"I demand that the Chief Advisor of the Interim Government bring back Sheikh Hasina, against whom an arrest warrant has been issued by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh. She should be held accountable under the law and punished,” he said.
Farroque stated that the syndicate pushing up the prices of essential items is connected to the ghost of Awami League.
“Those involved in the potato syndicate, the onion syndicate, and the sugar syndicate are once again alert and plotting," he said.
The BNP leader emphasised that the government must take swift action against the Awami business syndicate. “The longer we wait, the more they will assert themselves... We need to bring them under the law and break their hold."
