BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman on Monday urged people across the country to remain alert, warning that efforts are underway to obstruct the upcoming election, make it controversial and manipulate the results through election engineering, particularly during vote counting.
“A political party has become desperate to make the election controversial and obstruct it. You must stay extremely alert and vigilant,” he said while addressing a massive election rally at Jashore Upashahar Degree College ground in the afternoon.
The BNP chief also alleged that a particular political party is trying to sabotage the electoral process and deliberately create confusion to open the door for manipulation.
“We are hearing that counting of votes may take unusually long. Those who want to delay the process must be closely watched,” he said, adding that people know how much time vote counting normally takes.
Calling the February-12 election a contest between patriotic and anti-national forces, Tarique warned that attempts are being made to snatch people’s voting rights that were achieved through a long struggle over the last 16 years.
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He earlier addressed an election rally in Khulna and later joined the Jashore programme, where he introduced BNP candidates from seven districts of the Jashore and Kushtia regions and called upon voters to cast their ballots for the party’s candidates and its alliance partners.
In an oblique reference to a recent controversial remark allegedly made by the Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer about working women, he strongly criticised what he described as vulgar and offensive language against women.
The BNP chairman said Jamaat is now trying to escape responsibility by claiming that the leader’s social media account was hacked.
“When people protested, they said the account was hacked. But officials and experts have clearly said it was not hacked. This is a lie,” he said, adding that those who lie openly to the people can never work for the welfare of the country.
Addressing the crowd, Tarique also alleged that Jamaat is collecting NID information and mobile payment numbers by resorting to falsehoods to manipulate elections. “This reflects their character… you must remain cautious about it… If anyone tries to manipulate the vote count in the name of delay, it must be resisted firmly.”
He said history has shown that Jamaat has no respect for women, referring to their role during the 1971 Liberation War. “Because of their actions, countless mothers and sisters lost their honour. People must unite to resist their conspiracies.”
Speaking about regional development, Tarique highlighted Jashore’s flower cultivation industry and said BNP wants to modernise it and export flowers abroad, just as garments are exported.
He also announced plans to revive closed sugar mills, re-excavate canals, including the Ulshi canal in Sharsha, and boost agricultural production through better irrigation.
Tarique said BNP believes real development is not possible without the equal participation of men and women. “BNP has always worked for women’s empowerment,” he said, recalling initiatives taken during previous BNP governments, including free education for girls up to secondary level.
He also announced several welfare plans, including family cards for housewives, agricultural cards for farmers, interest waivers on small farm loans up to Tk10,000, and the establishment of vocational training institutes and IT parks to tackle unemployment.
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Tarique said BNP wants to build a Bangladesh where people of all religions can live in peace and dignity, and ended his speech by leading the crowd in the slogan: ‘Korbo Kaj, Gorbo Desh, Sobar Agey Bangladesh’.
Jashore district BNP President Advocate Syed Saberul Haque Sabu chaired the rally, while General Secretary Delwar Hossain Khokon conducted it. Among others, BNP Chairperson’s Adviser Mehedi Ahmed, Vice Chairman Nitai Roy Chowdhury, Professor Nargis Begum, and Khulna divisional organising secretary and Jashore-3 candidate Anindya Islam Amit spoke at the event.
After the rally, Tarique exchanged greetings with the parents of July uprising martyrs and those injured in the movement.