You are 18 crore Bangladeshis' Yunus, we don't want your resignation: BNP’s Farroque

Senior BNP leader Zainul Abedin Farroque has urged Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus not to resign.

"You [Yunus] are not just an individual, you are 18 crore Bangladeshis' Yunus. We don't want your resignation," Farroque said while addressing a rally at the National Press Club in Dhaka today (23 May).

'Aparajeyo Bangladesh' organised the programme titled 'Resist the Conspiracy to Foil the National Election – Rise, the People of the Country'.

His statement came after speculations spread that Yunus, who took charge of the interim government as the CA in August last year after a mass uprising toppled the Awami League from power, was considering resigning from his position.

Yesterday (22 May), after an hour-long meeting of the Advisory Council, Yunus held a four-hour-long unscheduled meeting with the council members where he expressed frustration over various obstacles, political unrest, and non-cooperation from political parties and said he was considering resigning.

Addressing Yunus, Farroque said, "You are a conscious citizen who has made us proud on the world stage. You are a Nobel laureate. But yesterday, I was shocked. I also read in the newspaper, although I don't know how much of this news is true — you reportedly told an NCP leader that you see no alternative but to resign."

"I felt disheartened by this news. We all placed you in that position with a purpose. We want to know why you haven't been able to make progress in the past nine months," continued the BNP leader, who is one of the advisers of the party's chairperson.

He also said, "The delay in holding the next parliamentary elections is fuelling instability in the country. You [Yunus] were appointed to facilitate the election. Nine months have passed, yet there is no sign of an election schedule.

"There appears to be a wave of unrest sweeping the country. Who are the main culprits behind this instability? Under whose influence the election is being delayed? That's why our party was compelled to say: the three advisers — Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, Mahfuj Alam, and Khalilur Rahman — must resign."

"Otherwise, it will fall upon you [Yunus] to remove them," he added.

The BNP leader also urged the chief adviser to set an example by ensuring a peaceful democratic transition so that future generations could take pride in him as an acceptable and honourable figure of the nation.

Farroque said reforms should indeed be carried out, but not in a way that would create a corridor to Myanmar or allow the Chattogram port to fall into the hands of others.

He cautioned against any reforms that might empower conspirators to delay the election and push Yunus's government into instability.

To overcome this instability, Farroque said, Yunus himself must announce the election schedule within the next few days.