Staff Reporter :
The General Secretary of the Awami League, Obaidul Quader, issued a call for unconditional apologies from leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for what he termed their “undemocratic activities.”
In a media statement on Wednesday, Quader asserted that BNP’s actions pose a significant obstacle to the realisation of democratic principles in the country.
Quader, who also serves as the Road Transport and Bridges Minister, emphasised that BNP’s inception was rooted in a period of dictatorship, and he accused the party of persistently undermining the values espoused by the Liberation War and democratic governance. He underscored that instead of acknowledging their transgressions, BNP leaders continue to make “ill-motivated statements.”
The General Secretary remarked, “When the killers of democracy talk about democracy today, that means they have different intentions. It is nothing but their crocodile tears for democracy.”
He lambasted the BNP for what he sees as a lack of responsibility towards democracy, alleging that their purported commitment to democratic principles is merely a facade to return the country to what he described as the misrule of figures like Tarique Rahman, whom he branded as the “mastermind” behind various alleged atrocities.
Highlighting the toll taken on Awami League members during the BNP-Jamaat alliance regime after 2001, Quader claimed that around 21,000 leaders and activists of his party were killed. He rallied support from what he termed the “democratic and patriotic civil society” against what he characterised as an “evil force of darkness.”
