– He also said Awami League should talk about the success or failure of BNP’s movement, reminding the ruling party that it took 21 years for them to come to power after 1975.
Dhaka Office: BNP senior leader Nazrul Islam Khan on Friday (23 February) expressed high hope that there must be a change in the government through the opposition’s ongoing movement for the ‘restoration of democracy’.
He also said Awami League should not talk about the success or failure of the BNP’s movement, reminding the ruling party that it took 21 years for them to come to power after 1975.
“We want a change in power and believe that it will inevitably happen,” the BNP leader said.
He made the remarks while talking to reporters after visiting the Gopibagh residence of BNP leader Imtiaz Ahmed Bulbul, who died in a hospital six days after his arrest last year.
Bulbul, a leader of Dhaka South City’s 39-number ward unit BNP, died on November 30 after being taken to the hospital due to a heart attack. BNP alleged that Babul died in custody as a result of torture.
On November 30, Imtiaz Ahmed Bulbul, an activist from Dhaka, died six days after he was sent to Gazipur prison.
Nazrul, a BNP standing committee member, said political parties devise their different programmes and strategies as per the demand of time.
He said their party turned victorious in various movements in the past, including one against the autocratic regime of HM Ershad in 1990. “The 1/ll regime in 2007 wanted to hold an election during the state emergency but failed to do so in the face of obstruction by us. We’re now trying to restore democracy.”
The BNP leader said their party also established multi-party democracy eliminating one-party rule Baksal introduced by Awami League. “BNP also established parliamentary democracy ending military autocracy. That’s why this BNP will be able to establish democracy and good governance in Bangladesh again in the future.”
In response to a question, he said BNP together with many other opposition parties have long been in a simultaneous movement for the restoration of democracy. “They (AL) accuse us of not being able to carry out the movement. BNP is out of power for 17 years… They have been saying since 10-12 years ago that BNP has no strength with a broken back to continue the movement. They (AL) were out of power for 21 years… Were their backs broken or straight at that time?
Nazrul said Awami League has no right to question the movement ability of the BNP when this party took 21 years to return to power.
Accusing the government of usurping power, he urged it to take step to restore good governance so that the relatives of any persons need not cry about losing their dear ones without any crime. “If someone commits a crime, he/she must be punished. But what is happening now?
The BNP leader described the custodial death of Bulbul as a ‘murder incident’ and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
On behalf of the BNP high command, Nazrul talked to the bereaved relatives of Bulbul and consoled them.
