Restoring voting rights is the nation's aspiration this New Year: Rizvi

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi today (14 April) said the nation's aspiration this Bangla New Year is to quickly restore the people's voting rights.

"This is what we've been fighting for over the past 15–16 years, and yet it remains unfulfilled. We are moving toward that goal, but any further dillydallying is unacceptable," Rizvi said at a discussion and cultural programme organised by Sathi Swajan at the Sanskriti Bikash Kendra in the capital, marking Pahela Baishakh.

He said Sheikh Hasina snatched away people's right to vote and established a one-party authoritarian rule, destroying the country's democratic institutions, rule of law and press freedom.

Rizvi said the people of Bangladesh have fought back with pride, carrying within them the ideals of their heritage, culture, and glorious past amid the cruel clutches of Hasina.

"It is because of this resistance that we've achieved a victory. No,w this victory must be made sustainable within a democratic framework. That's why, on this New Year's Day, the people's demand is the immediate restoration of voting rights," he added.

He raised questions over linking voting rights with 'so-called' reforms.

"Why is the right to vote being mixed with reform? That's not how it works anywhere in the world. Democracy itself is reform. It is a continuous, dynamic process—like the strong current of a river, transparent and ever-flowing without obstruction," he said.

Rizvi alleged that over the past 15–16 years, foreign cultural influences were deliberately imposed on the nation.

"You may recall how certain masks used in Mongol Shobhajatra were deliberately crafted to mock our leader Khaleda Zia. Even bearded and tupi-wearing people were portrayed in a distorted way. But not all of them opposed the Liberation War. Every citizen in a democracy should have their rights protected," he said.

Referring to last year's mass movement, Rizvi said, "The 5 August uprising was not just about toppling an autocrat—it was also a blow against a wider cultural and economic domination. We didn't just bring down Hasina; we won on all fronts."

National University Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Nurul Islam, poet Rezabuddaula Starlin, BNP Executive Committee Member Mahbubur Rahman, Jubo Dal leader Mehedi Masum Shanto, and Chhatra Dal leaders Tawhid Aowal and Raju Ahmed were, among others, present.