BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday urged the government to take steps to avoid chaos over the election and overcome the political crisis in a peaceful manner.
Exchanging greetings with the members of the Hindu community at Dhakeshwari Central Puja Mandap, he also said democracy must be restored to establish people’s religious and all other rights.
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“Why is there chaos during elections? No one wants it to happen. Why should we face turmoil during the election time even after 52 years (of the country’s birth)? Why do we still need to talk about our right to vote?” the BNP leader said.
He said the nation had established a system for fair polls under a non-party and neutral caretaker government, but the ruling party has nurtured uncertainty and chaos around elections by revoking that system.
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“We have to come out of this crisis with united efforts in a peaceful manner. Let’s get united forgetting all conflicts, vengeance, and jealousy to turn Bangladesh into a lovely and peaceful country,” he said.
The BNP leader said Bangladesh is a country where communalism or communal incidents are manufactured, but the people themselves are not communal.
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He said people of all religions fought together during the Liberation War in 1971 and liberated the country by sacrificing their lives. “We had a goal for establishing a truly democratic and independent Bangladesh for all people regardless of their religions.”
Fakhrul said BNP has been working to implement this goal and to ensure the equal rights of people of all religions.
He urged all to remain alert so that no one can commit any excesses or create trouble in the name of religion. "We believe it is possible to protect people’s rights and avoid violence if there is democracy. That’s why we're fighting for the restoration of democracy.”
He said their party thinks it will be possible to establish the rights of all and all people will be able to live in peace if Bangladesh can be turned into a democratic state.
The BNP leader said their party believes in religious freedom for all -and even that it does not believe in the notion of religious minorities.
“We believe that everyone who lives in this country are citizens of Bangladesh and their identity is that they are Bangladeshis and they all have equal rights."
“It’s our misfortune that the country has been divided. We don’t want the politics of division as we favour the politics of unity. We believe that the emancipation of Bangladesh is possible when people will have freedom and when democracy will be established,” Fakhrul observed.
On behalf of BNP, Fakhrul visited the Dhakeswari Central Puja Mandap on the occasion of Durga Puja. Fakhrul stayed there for some time and talked to the devotees.
Later, he visited the Banani Puja Mandap and exchanged greetings with the devotees.