BNP senior leader Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan on Friday said the primary responsibility of the current interim government is to restore democracy in Bangladesh by holding a credible and national election.

Speaking at a discussion, he also said Sheikh Hasina fled to India like a coward in the face of a student-led mass uprising on August 5.

“’The young people who became eligible voters at the age of 18 in Bangladesh have been denied the right to exercise their franchise for the past 16 years,” he said.

The BNP leader said their party’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has guided the people of the country with proper direction to reclaim their right to vote through a long struggle.

“The primary duty of the interim government is to hold a free, fair, and impartial election in the near future. Insha’Allah, democracy — for which lakhs of people sacrificed their lives during the 1971 Liberation War — will be restored in Bangladesh through that election,” he said.

The Jatiyatabadi Baul Dal organised the programme on the premises of Shah Ali Shrine in the city’s Mirpur area, marking ‘National Revolution and Solidarity Day’ to commemorate the ‘civil-military uprising’ of November 7, 1975.

Dr Moyeen, a BNP Standing Committee member, said the people of Bangladesh participated in the Liberation War with the dream of establishing democracy and securing the basic and democratic rights of the people, including the right to vote.

He lamented that the Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, established the one-party Baksal rule in 1975 by abolishing democracy and snatching all the rights of the people.

The BNP leader said during its 16 years in power, the Awami League fed the new generation the ‘tablet of Baksal’ and taught them distorted history by altering the curriculum.

“But it didn’t work. Had it worked, the July-August mass uprising led by the students would not have occurred. The youth have created a new history on August 5, as they were not misled by the fabricated history of the Awami League,” Dr Moyeen said.

The BNP leader said the people of Bangladesh believe in the rule of law, truth, fairness, and justice. “They do not support falsehood, injustice, repression, imprisonment, or false charges. We are on the path of truth, and we will remain so in the future.”

He said when the Pakistani occupation forces attacked unarmed Bengalis on March 25, 1971, the then Army Major Ziaur Rahman revolted and declared the country’s independence. “But the Awami League, which claims to be the pro-liberation force, acted as a fleeing political entity. They have no valid grounds to claim to be a pro-liberation force.”

He also said the Awami leaders fled the country across the border to find safe shelter and save their lives. “In exactly the same way, Sheikh Hasina, the head of the autocratic regime, fled the country like a coward on August 5 this year, just as her predecessors did during 1971.'”