Hasina wants to return to power by ‘killing 18 crore people’: Shafiqul Alam
Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina wants to return to power by "killing 18 crore people" of Bangladesh, Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam has claimed.
"Sheikh Hasina, from her refuge in India, is calling everyone involved in the July Uprising terrorists. By calling 18 crore people terrorists, she has essentially declared them all deserving of death, she wants to come back to power by killing everyone," Shafiqul said while speaking at a dialogue organised by TRACE Consulting at Hotel InterContinental in Dhaka today (8 November).
He further said, "The government is preparing for an election in February. I am giving my commitment that the election will be held in the first half of February."
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On the referendum, he said if political parties fail to reach a consensus regarding the July Charter and the referendum, the interim government will make a decision very soon.
Referring to Hasina's recent remarks in Indian media, Shafiqul said, "Sheikh Hasina said that those involved in the July uprising are terrorists. Calling them terrorists means marking them for death.
"That means Hasina has made the leaders of political parties, those who participated in the July movement, targets for elimination. The political parties now need to take a clear position on Sheikh Hasina."
Addressing criticism that the July Charter lacked inclusivity, he said, "Some say the July Charter was made without consulting women or labour representatives. But my question is, does the BNP not represent women? Does Saiful Bhai from the Revolutionary Workers Party not work for labourers? They have been working for labourers for years. Zonayed Saki's wife has worked for women's rights as well."
Shafiqul added that the ongoing political dialogue could continue even after the election.
"Even if someone says the dialogue is flawed, that is not true. The discussions held under the Consensus Commission were fully documented. We have 4,000 pages written and 10 terabytes of video footage. Anyone can review them anytime," he said.
