Crisis deepens after Jan 7 polls, BNP warns govt
Staff Reporter :
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main opposition party, has warned that the political crisis in the country has only deepened following the January 7 national elections, dismissing the government’s belief that the situation has been resolved.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made these remarks during a press conference held at the party’s chairperson’s Gulshan office in the capital on Sunday.
The conference aimed to inform journalists about decisions taken during a virtual meeting of the party’s Standing Committee on May 8.
Fakhrul accused the government of leveraging the judiciary to execute its depoliticization agenda, alleging that opposition leaders and activists were being arbitrarily convicted and imprisoned to consolidate state power.
“Our Standing Committee meeting strongly condemned the unilateral trials and sentencing of party leaders and activists,” Fakhrul stated, highlighting that more than 2,000 opposition members had been incarcerated in what he described as “false, fabricated, and fictitious cases.”
“The judiciary, meant to be a recourse for citizens, has been weaponized for repression,” Alamgir asserted.
The BNP’s statements reflect ongoing tensions in Bangladesh’s political landscape, with allegations of government crackdowns on dissenting voices persisting since the January elections.
Mirza Fakhrul has also accused the government of empowering vested interests to plunder public resources for their own gain, leading to economic destruction and widespread corruption.
In a recent statement, Fakhrul highlighted that a select group within the ruling party has been allowed to exploit the country’s resources, enabling them to amass wealth through corrupt practices. He emphasised that this scheme has been orchestrated to maintain the current regime’s grip on power.
“The ruling party’s plunderers are funnelling vast sums of money abroad, severely damaging the country’s economy,” Fakhrul alleged.
He further criticised the government’s policies, asserting that they were intentionally making Bangladesh financially reliant on external support while a specific group continued to illegally benefit from corruption and irregularities, leveraging state power.
Alamgir went on to describe the current state of Bangladesh under the ruling party as indicative of a failed state, citing economic breakdown and a lack of accountability within political and social structures as primary indicators.
Regarding historical figures, Alamgir defended Begum Khaleda Zia’s legacy as the first female freedom fighter in Bangladesh, claiming that the ruling Awami League (AL) expressed undue hostility towards this fact.
He also called for stricter scrutiny of imported goods, suggesting that the government lacks accountability to the public for ensuring the quality of imported commodities.
The Daily News will continue to report on developments related to these allegations and their impact on the political landscape in Bangladesh.