BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said the country’s people have to establish their voting rights through a fierce movement as there is no chance of a good sense prevailing upon the Awami League government.

He also alleged that the government is trying to suppress the ongoing movement of people by sending opposition leaders and activists to jail and establishing its control on the state machinery.

Talking to reporters after placing wreaths at the grave of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, the BNP leader  made remarks while giving the party’s reaction to the High Court verdicts that upheld the jail term of BNP leaders Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku, Amanullah Aman and his wife Sabera Aman in separate corruption cases.

“These verdicts have manifested that the government has grabbed the entire state machinery, including the judiciary. They are trying to subdue the democratic movement by sending the opposition leaders and activists to jail with dictated verdicts,” he said.

The BNP leader strongly denounced the apex court’s verdicts against Tuku, Aman and Sabera. “We think these are dictated judgment. The democratic movement can never be stopped by such judgments. People must realise their rights."

Fakhrul, along with BNP leaders and activists, paid homage to Zia by placing wreaths at his grave in the capital’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, marking the 42nd death anniversary of the party’s founder.

Earlier in the day, a High Conch bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat upheld the jail term of BNP standing committee member Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku, and party’s Dhaka north city unit convener Amanullah Aman and his wife Sabera Aman in separate graft cases.

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Fakhrul said their party is aggrieved at the court’s verdicts. “It is clear from these incidents that there is no possibility of prevailing good sense upon this government. The only way to defeat this regime and bring back the rule of law, democracy, democratic system and fair elections is a fierce movement of people.”

He said the government has been making various efforts to keep the people of the country away from democratic rights, and politics. “The government is also working so that a fair and neutral can’t be held. They want to hold a lopsided election further. But this time people will not allow it.”

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The BNP leader said they are observing the death anniversary of their party founder at a time when the country’s people have lost their voting and other democratic rights under the current one-party rule.

“On this day we’ve taken a new oath that we will restore the lost democracy of Bangladesh at any cost,” he said.

BNP and its associate bodies observed the 42nd death anniversary of its founder and former president Ziaur Rahman with various programmes.

Ziaur Rahman who founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 1978 was assassinated by a group of disgruntled army officers at Chittagong Circuit House on 30 May, 1981.

Apart from BNP its different units and associate bodies paid homage to Zia and offered fateha at his grave on the occasion.