The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Saturday accused the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami of using delaying tactics in an attempt to obstruct the national elections.
BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed made the remark at a discussion titled 鈥楾he Third Dialogue on Youthful State Thought 鈥� Education and Institutions with Human Values鈥� at the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh at Kakrail in the capital.
The event was organised by Aparna Alok Sangha.
Citing a remark made by Bangladesh Jamaat聽 Chattogram regional director Muhammad Shahjahan at a public meeting on Friday, Salahuddin said, 鈥業f you are so confident that you will be the ruling party, then why don鈥檛 you come to the elections?鈥�
Muhammad Shahjahan had said that the Jamaat would win enough seats in the upcoming national elections to form the government and force the BNP into the opposition.
Salahuddin questioned as to why the Jamaat was trying to obstruct the polls with one excuse one day, another the next day, and yet another afterwards.
Salahuddin also observed that the student leaders鈥� decision to take responsibilities in the post-uprising government had not been a sound or well-thought-out one.
He said that the day student representatives became part of the government, it became clear that they would have little role in nation building.
Citing the strong anti-incumbency sentiment in Bangladesh, Salahuddin observed that governments were always blamed first for failures -- whether justified or not.
He said that student leaders could have played a vital role by keeping them as a pressure group for the nation, but their position in the government had made them bear the burden of being seen as a liability every day.
Salahuddin called upon all political parties and the people of the country to come together and refrain from creating any further crises.
He urged everyone to stay united and emphasised the need to preserve the national unity formed against fascism.
He also said that by turning this unity into strength, they would be able to continue democratic practices and build a democratic state, adding that a strong, economically prosperous, and just democratic state would fulfil the dreams of all martyrs.
