After the assassination of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15 in 1975, Major Ziaur Rahman violated the Constitution and grabbed the state power illegally as a military dictator and formed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
After Zia, HM Ershad, another military dictator who ousted Abdus Sattar, assumed power in 1982 and formed Jatiya Party following his footprint and played the same game like him (Ziaur Rahman). And he continued his autocratic rule up to 1990.
Since then a reign of terror was established after destroying the country’s democracy and distorting the glorious history of the Liberation War.
Our country’s people spearheaded a long campaign to restore democracy uprooting the autocratic regime to establish their fundamental rights and they spontaneously took part in the movement and shed their blood.
Our democracy was restored, Liberation War spirit was established and smile was brought on people’s face as Awami League President Sheikh Hasina returned home on May 17, 1981. The state’s democracy, freedom of speech and all norms and values of the Liberation War were also destroyed during the 2007-2008 military-back caretaker government again.
A democratic country like Bangladesh would have been a far cry if Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina did not return home on May 7, 2007 braving all obstacles of the then military-back caretaker regime.
The major democratic countries, who claim themselves as paragons of democracy and human rights, are not free from these flaws. There are many political parties in our country and they all talk about democracy and freedom of speech.
We still believe
the election is
the main foundation
of democracy
We still believe the election is the main foundation of democracy. But since its birth, BNP has been making mockery of the country’s people over democracy and elections.
We want to pose a question which political party practises democracy inside the party politics at first? There is no practice of democracy in BNP as it does not practise democracy inside the party. BNP itself cannot say when the party’s last council was held. At a stroke of a pen, a person becomes a leader in BNP as well as he or she is removed from the party.
On the other hand, the Awami League’s national council is held every three years, while its secretary-level meeting is held each month and the extended meeting of AL’s district units is held every six months. How and in what way the BNP will have respect for the democratic system of Bangladesh? So, the BNP should come back to the politics of the welfare for the people instead of looking for alternative ways for capturing power.
The Awami League has built quite a robust democracy in our country. Under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, Awami League is trying to institutionalise democracy.
Therefore, to keep the country’s fundamental principles and democratic values of Bangladesh with the spirit of the Liberation War intact, political parties should do politics for the welfare of the people. There is no alternative way that would help any political party to capture state power.
The practice of democracy is continuing in Bangladesh aptly. Bangladesh can make more progress if the BNP properly practices democracy.
So, the BNP should make necessary preparations for participating in the next general elections as per the Constitution instead of hooliganism and lobbying with their foreign master. The political party which is born from the pockets of military usurpers can never understand democracy and do well for the people.
We think a political party like BNP which was formed by an illegal military dictator is illegal and it should not be continued in a democratic country. We are noticing that no political party can exist without practising democracy.
If we want to ensure sustainable development, the progress of democracy must also be accelerated. Therefore, we think our new generation will involve themselves in the democratic practice being imbued with the spirit of Liberation War as democracy and development are complementary to each other.
