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The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday urged interim government chief Muhammad Yunus to immediately start dialogue with political parties to restore democracy in the country.

‘Our request to the chief adviser and advisory council is that the political parties are the stakeholders of the people of this country. If you want democracy, talk to the political parties,’ BNP standing committee member Hafizuddin Ahmed said at a programme in Dhaka.

BNP’s front wing Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Matsyajibi Dal organised the meeting to  commemorate former BNP executive committee member Rafiqul Islam Mahatab at the National Press Club.

Hafizuddin Ahmed suggested that the government should hold dialogue with the political parties that previously had representation in the parliament.

‘Talk to political parties and take recommendations from them to set the pathway for democratic transition,’ he said.

Hafizuddin also demanded abolition of the existing Election Commission within the next 24 hours.

‘If you want democracy back, this Election Commission should be abolished within 24 hours. They are not people’s Election Commission. This commission did the day’s vote at the previous night,’ he said.

Asking the government for a roadmap, he said, ‘Democracy must be established in this country and there is no alternative to democracy. ‘

Calling on the chief adviser to announce the roadmap in a very short time, the BNP leader said that by holding elections at a reasonable time, it will enable the people’s representatives to assume their responsibilities.

‘The interim government should not have any objection to announce the roadmap,’ he said.

‘We want this revolution to be successful. You [Yunus] are our glory, be strong, don’t think yourself weak. The people of Bangladesh are with you. We hope that he will serve Bangladesh like a revolutionary by adopting a revolutionary character,’ Hafizuddin said.

‘We want to see the true character of every force. We want to see whether they are biased towards the people. How dare the Ansar members jump over the Secretariat walls and besiege the advisers and government officials?’ the BNP leader said as he criticised the role of the law and order forces, referring to the Sunday’s incident in which protesting Ansar members blocked the Secretariat in the capital.