BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday alleged that certain advisers to the interim government are attempting to incite public sentiment by portraying BNP’s demand for a national election within a specific timeframe as a ‘grave sin’.
“Why is there so much unnecessary delay over the election? Is it a great sin to call for elections within a clear timeframe? From the remarks of some advisers, it appears they are provoking this notion among different people in various ways,” he said.
The BNP leader said this while speaking to reporters after paying tribute to National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam by placing a wreath at his grave on the Dhaka University campus, marking his 126th birth anniversary.
He said BNP and other democratic parties have wanted the interim government to carry out necessary reforms and hold a free and fair election, which Sheikh Hasina had delayed, depriving voters of their right to vote.
“All our protests and movements have been aimed at getting out of such a situation, restoring true democracy and ensuring a free environment. But now, there are so many ploys surrounding the election,” the BNP leader said.
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He also accused some advisers of exacerbating the ongoing political crisis and speaking about the election beyond their jurisdiction. "If the advisers are pursuing any hidden agenda outside their responsibilities, the people will not accept it."
Rizvi said Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan’s role is to protect and improve the environment, but she speaks about the election instead.
He questioned what she has done to save the Buriganga and Shitalakhya rivers. “Why are we still breathing toxic air? Since taking office, we have seen no drive or initiative from her to make the environment pollution-free.”
Justifying his party’s call for the resignation of two student-leader-turned-advisers, Rizvi said the role of the interim government is to remain neutral.
He said it is not the interim government's responsibility to help form a particular political party or aid its growth.
"Rather, they must perform their duties impartially. In this case, if an adviser calls the SP (of Cumilla) and orders him to arrest people belonging to the BNP and prevent the party from carrying out any activities there, why would there not be demands for his resignation?" Rizvi said.
He also said his party supported the government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus after the fascist Awami League regime fled.
“But if we find anyone within the government playing a partisan role, we will have to protest against them,” the BNP leader said.
He alleged that Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives, as well as Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, phoned the SP of Cumilla’s Muradnagar, instructing him not to allow BNP leaders and activists to carry out activities in the upazila, which happens to be the adviser’s home constituency.
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“So, this is a repeat of the Sheikh Hasina era. Now there is supposed to be a free environment, yet those in charge of running the government continue to play such a controversial, partisan role. Such incidents are occurring in various places,” Rizvi said.