Hold snap polls to test govt popularity: BBC Sanglap

UNB, Dhaka :
Discussants at the BBC Sanglap here on Saturday underscored the need for holding a midterm national election with the participation of all political parties to test the popularity of the incumbent government.
The 89th episode of the BBC Sanglap was held at Biam Auditorium in the city in the evening.
Panel discussant Food Minister Quamrul Islam said BNP could not understand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent comments over election. “There’s no question of holding any snap election in the country,” he said, adding
 that BNP will have to wait for another four years as they missed the election train.
BNP chairperson’s adviser Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain said the government must listen to the voice of the country’s people who are crying for a midterm election.
Replying to a question from the audience about the claim by European Union (EU) asking for abolition of capital punishment awarded to Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami for war crimes, the Food Minister, “EU’s demand is completely ridiculous. “It’s a domestic trial and Bangladesh has every right to set up tribunal for trying the 1971 war criminals.”
While Khandaker Mahbub said, “The trial is a government evil attempt to divide the nation by holding trial after a long period of four decades.”
Among others, Jahangirnagar University professor Abdul Latif Masum and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) assistant professor Dr Nuzhat Chowdhury, also daughter of war martyr Dr Abdul Alim Chowdhury, spoke at the BBC Sanglap.
Prof Masum also stressed the importance for holding the snap election.