BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday alleged that Awami League (AL) wants to come to power again by holding another “unilateral” election as it has already destroyed the electoral system.

Speaking at an iftar party, he also warned that Bangladesh will turn into a subservient country and people will not have any rights if Awami League retains power by holding a “state-managed” election under it.

“The Awami League government— which has been in power for 14 years without getting elected by people and which has destroyed the election system and snatched people’s rights—wants to retain power by holding another election in the same style it did earlier,” the BNP leader said.

Doctors’ Association of Bangladesh (DAB) organized the iftar party at the Ladies Club in the city’s Eskaton area.

Fakhrul said their party chief Khaleda Zia introduced the polls-time caretaker government to ensure credible elections in the country, but Awami League repealed the system to cling to power and deprive people of their voting rights.

The BNP leader said the government has amended the constitutions repeatedly and enacted some laws so that no one can raise their voices against this regime.

“They formulated the laws in ways so that anyone can be arrested for speaking against the government. They enacted the Digital Security Act by which they can arrest anytime those who write and are in journalism,” Fakhrul observed.

He said the government has been arresting and harassing journalists and editors and killing and repressing professionals, including doctors, and common people.   

The BNP leader also said the government has also crippled the country’s economy through corruption and plundering.

He said the government earlier raised the prices of gas and power to meet the demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“They have now increased the prices of fertilizer, leaving the farmers in the lurch. The prices of essentials will grow up further as the farmers’ production costs will rise,” he said. 

Fakhrul said the country has been going through a very critical time in terms of politics and the economy.

He said the freedom fighters liberated the country through a battle for establishing a truly democratic state and a free and just society to ensure the rights of people from all walks of life.

Fakhrul deplored that the country’s people are deprived of their rights even 52 years after the independence as a “usurper” government has been in power by snatching people’s rights using the state machinery.  

“This regime has destroyed all the spirits of the Liberation War in its own interest to cement the one-party Baksal rule,” he claimed.

Under the current circumstances in the country, Fakhrul said the country’s citizens must come forward and encourage people to involve with the ongoing movement to realize the 10-point demand, including the resignation of the current government and holding the next polls under a caretaker government.

“All movements and mass uprisings in the world succeed only when conscious citizens take to the streets. This monstrous government must be defeated and a people’s government must be established to build a welfare state and restore people’s rights,” he said.