Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson鈥檚 advisory council member Zainul Abedin Farroque on Tuesday said that the ruling Awami League was jeopardising its own existence by repeatedly conducting one-sided elections.
He also called upon the ruling party to stand by the people who were struggling to cope with the scorching heat of the persistent heatwave.
鈥極baidul Quader used to say that BNP is facing an existential crisis. However, it鈥檚 not BNP but Awami League is facing such a crisis of existence. They have brought this crisis upon themselves by repeatedly holding unilateral polls in the country,鈥� said Farroque.
He also alleged that Awami League had repetitively resorted to vote rigging in unilateral polls since they lack the courage to conduct free, fair, and credible elections with the participation of major political parties. 鈥楽o, they won鈥檛 be able to sustain their existence.鈥�
Farroque made the remarks while distributing bottled water and saline among pedestrians in front of the Jatiya Press Club arranged by Ziaur Rahman Samaj Kalyan Forum amid the ongoing severe heat wave.
He slammed Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader for merely talking about upazila elections from the comfort of his home while people are suffering due to sweltering temperatures. 鈥業nstead of solely focusing on elections, distribute water among people during severe heat wave. People won鈥檛 accept the unilateral elections that you have been frequently conducting,鈥� he observed.
Farroque, a former opposition chief whip in parliament, warned that the government would eventually have to be accountable to people, regardless of the tactics it resorts to.
He also opposed keeping educational institutions open during the ongoing extreme heatwave. 鈥業t鈥檚 imperative to take action against keeping schools open during such severe heatwave.鈥�
Stating that the government has failed on all fronts, he called upon them to step down to save the poor people from misrule.
The BNP leader also said the country鈥檚 people are enduring serious hardships due to the current government鈥檚 mismanagement, corruption and plundering.