Military dictators Zia, Ershad created separate parties to shield themselves: Joy

The track record of illegally seizing state power cost the legitimacy of the opposition parties, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ICT Advisor Sajeeb Wazed condemning the parties for their lack of involvement with democracy.

"Both Ziaur Rahman and (HM) Ershad formed BNP and Jatiya Party respectively to legitimize the power they seized illegally. These parties have no involvement with the democratic system of the country, they rather are regularly cheating on the ordinary people in the name of politics," he said in a Facebook post. 

Joy shared two posts -- text and video -- in which he said BNP has continuously failed to earn the public trust as a strong opposition due to its lack of pro-people politics, and it is affecting the overall welfare of the state.
 
Lashing out at them for having no 'pro-people or pro-state political philosophy', Joy went on to say, "The leaders of the BNP, who claimed themselves as the opposition, do not have any pro-people or pro-state political philosophy.

"Rather, their party constitution encourages corruption as there is no example in world history to amend the party constitution to induct the corrupt persons into it."

The CRI chairperson also heavily criticized BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, saying, "Dictator Ziaur Rahman" basically formed the BNP to perpetuate the illegally occupied power. 

"He supplied guns to the university students on the pretext of introducing his party's student wing. In the guise of forming committees across the country, BNP organized all terrorists and miscreants and formed a special force. Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman also continued the same trend later."

"When these parties were in power illegally, they did not let any strong opposition grow through their subversive activities and repression. In this digital era, the leaders and activists of these parties are also constantly fooling and confusing ordinary people by spreading rumours online.

"As a result, other parties are not getting the opportunity to criticize the government constructively and give good advice on various issues," he further said.

The party was isolated from public connection during its birth, Joy said. 

Therefore, its leaders and activists are also isolated from one another and their relations are mainly in exchange for money," he added.

Comparing the inception of the ruling Awami League and that of opposition parties, he said the Awami League was born in 1949 through a mass movement against the exploitation of the Pakistani government. 

"This party appeared as strong opposition by organizing people to take to the streets in all movements and struggles. But the position of the two so-called main opposition parties in Bangladesh is just the opposite. Both BNP and Jatiya Party were born overnight as government parties."