BNP for defeating AL through vote, not other means

The Awami League should be defeated through the democratic process of voting, not through any other means, BNP senior leader Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said today (12 November).

Speaking at a roundtable discussion, he also said Bangladesh will get back on the right track only if democracy is restored and the people's ownership of the country is reestablished through a credible national election.

"If we want to remove the Awami League by any other means, it will not be sustainable. The fascists must be decisively defeated through the power of the vote. Any attempt to do so through other ways will yield no benefit," the BNP leader said.

Voice of Democracy and Voter Rights organised the programnme titled "Take Back Bangladesh: Citizen Thoughts" at the Jatiya Press Club.

Khosru, a BNP standing committee member, said the people of the country will not accept any new narrative on state reforms put forth by the unelected government.

"An unelected government has no right to carry out reforms based solely on its own thinking and philosophy. They can only implement reforms that are agreed upon by all parties. Our BNP has no objection to this. They can carry out those few reforms that will help quickly restore a democratic order based on national consensus," he said.

The senior BNP leader also said political parties will present their own reform proposals to the people during the election.

"People will decide and pass them in the next parliament. But the narrative being created without involving the people will not be acceptable to the nation."

He said Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, autocratic ruler Ershad, and fascist ruler Sheikh Hasina all created different narratives in the past, but those were ultimately rejected by people.

"We now hope that we won't have to hear any new narratives. The only narrative is to return the people's ownership of the country through a free and fair election. The people of Bangladesh will decide the future direction of the country," Khosru stated.

The BNP leader said their party envisioned building a new Bangladesh through reforms upholding the spirit of pluralistic democracy even long before the fall of Sheikh Hasina, "Now many are talking about reforms as if it's a new idea. But for BNP, reforms are nothing new."

He said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia had presented a reform proposal through Vision 2030 in 2016, while Tarique Rahman had also proposed a 31-point reform plan based on the consensus of all the parties involved in the simultaneous movement over a year ago.

"The BNP not only presented the 31-point reform proposal based on unity, but also stated that it will be implemented by forming a national government, if the people support the party through the election," Khosru said.

He said the state reforms must be carried out based on national consensus, with the full support and confidence of the people. "This can only be achieved by an elected government."

The BNP leader assured that they are committed to implementing the 31-point reforms. "We will implement them together with everyone.

He said their party has long been leading the street movement to restore democracy, human rights and voting rights. "Our journey on the streets is not over yet. We must swiftly establish an elected parliament and government that will be accountable to people."

Khosru also said their party will not allow the interim government to fail, as they will continue to support and extend full cooperation to it for the quick democratic transition.

"We brought down Sheikh Hasina's government together. Now, we will work together to rebuild Bangladesh based on national unity. We will steer the country back on the right track, building a free, democratic and humane Bangladesh," he asserted.