Labour unrest created by allies of fascism: Fakhrul

The current labour unrest in the country's industrial belts was created at the signal of the allies of fascism, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said today (15 September).

"So far, there are clear signs from the allies of fascism, and the conspiracy continues," the BNP leader made the remarks during a press conference at the BNP chairperson's Gulshan office.

The press conference was arranged to highlight the BNP's role, contribution and expectations in the journey towards a democratic Bangladesh on the occasion of International Democracy Day.

Fakhrul said the audio (phone call records) of so-called fascist Hasina are leaked from the other side of the border, which contain misleading information. On the other hand, it is trying to spread propaganda that the religious minorities are being persecuted in Bangladesh, which is totally false, he said.

Even the journalists who came from India have seen it and reported that what is being said is not correct, he said adding what has happened is the outcome of some political problems that may happen anytime.

Mirza Fakhrul said now they should show patience and let the interim government carry out their responsibilities which were entrusted with it. "They (interim government) quickly started the reform works. We think these (reform) works are necessary," he said.

He said it should go for an election that will be held under a neutral government after completing these (reform) tasks quickly in a bid to pave the way for the people to elect their representatives applying their voting rights in a free and fair election.

Replying to a question, the BNP secretary general said the interim government should make the election-related reforms – like reforms to the Election Commission, the administration and the law enforcement agencies.

In this context, he said many of them were convicted of offences, which disqualified them to run the election for two years. Such provisions need to be reformed, he said.

"The other reform tasks should be done by the government that will come to power getting the people's votes,"said Fakhrul.

He also stressed the need for the implementation of the 31-point state reform proposal by BNP and its like-minded parties.

The BNP Secretary General said the administration has not been freed yet from the deep-rooted fascism.

"Since the root of this fascism went into so deep, it is a tough job to find anti-fascism individuals here," he said.

The BNP leader put emphasis on maintaining an overall political unity in the journey towards democracy.

"On many occasions, it is seen that very responsible political parties say things that are not conducive to an overall unity. It's a problem," said Fakhrul.