BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Monday that Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus informed them that his government is working to organise the next general election by December this year.
“The Chief Adviser and those who were with him assured us that they will arrange the election very soon. He (Prof Yunus) has also said they are working to arrange the election by December this year,” Fakhrul said while talking to reporters after a meeting with the Chief Adviser.
Mirza Fakhrul led a three-member BNP delegation during the 90-minute meeting with the Chief Adviser at state guest house Jamuna here in the evening.
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The BNP leader said his party hopes that the government will come up with a roadmap to arrange the election by December next as per their and the people’s expectation.
Replying to a question when the government would announce the roadmap, he said the government will determine it. “Probably, they will say something about it by February 15,” said Fakhrul.
The BNP secretary said his party has been telling this government repeatedly that they are an interim government. “We’ve again asked to hold the election soon (during the meeting),” he said.
He said they talked about holding the election soon after completing minimum reforms on the basis of consensus to be reached through discussions.
"What we believe is that the transition towards a democratic government and a democratic system will be much easier if there is an election," said the BNP leader.
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Replying to a question, Fakhrul said they would not accept any election other than the national one. "We do not agree in any way with holding local government elections first. We have said this before, and we continue to assert that there will be no elections before the national election."
Regarding the recent incidents of violence, vandalism, and arson attacks, the BNP leader said the government cannot escape responsibility for these incidents.
“This is because these incidents occurred in front of various government institutions and forces. We believe these incidents have significantly undermined the overall law and order situation, as well as the stability of the country,” he said.
Fakhrul also said these incidents have emboldened the fascists to raise their voices. “We have called for bringing all the fascist elements within the administration to justice and, at the same time, removing them from their positions,” he said.
The BNP leader said their party has demanded steps be taken to recover the laundered money of those who have damaged the economy and looted public funds, and to bring them to justice.
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“At the same time, we have also called for the withdrawal of false cases filed against political leaders and activists over the past 15 years,” he said.
Fakhrul strongly criticised the recent price hikes in commodities. “We have said that one of the failures of this government is its inability to control the prices of goods,” Fakhrul said.
He said the government had informed them that they are working to control commodity prices.
Regarding the joint forces' “Operation Devil Hunt,” the BNP leader cautioned the government to be careful to ensure that no untoward incidents are repeated, as during similar operations in the past.
“This means innocent people should not be harmed, and no problems should arise as a result,” he said.
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Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul, and Industry Adviser Adilur Rahman were present at the meeting with the Chief Advisor.
Two other members of the BNP delegation were Standing Committee members Salahuddin Ahmed and Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.