Prof Yunus urges unity to resist election sabotage
NN Online:
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Saturday called on all pro‑democracy forces to close ranks against “defeated elements” he said are plotting to disrupt the forthcoming national election.
“Unless the pro‑uprising camp stands together to deliver a credible vote, we risk squandering a historic opportunity,” Prof Yunus told senior leaders from a dozen parties during a views‑exchange meeting at state guesthouse Jamuna.
He warned that the same forces toppled in last year’s mass movement have been seizing every opening to stir unrest. “Each time we advance with election preparations, fresh conspiracies surface. Yet no plot can halt our march toward democracy when anti‑fascist unity is so visible.”
The Chief Adviser voiced confidence that all parties would cooperate to ensure a free and fair poll. Attending leaders pledged their support.
Participants included Aminul Haque Tipu Biswas (Jatiya Gano Front); Mostafa Jamal Haider (Jatiya Party–Kazi Zafar faction/12‑Party Alliance); Maulana Abdul Majed Athari (Nezam‑e‑Islam); Maulana Yusuf Ashraf (Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish); Fariduzzaman Farhad (NPP); Dr Mushtaq Hossain (Bangladesh Jasad); Bobby Hajjaj (Nationalist Democratic Movement); Mufti Sakhawat Hossain Raji (Islami Oikya Jote); Rafiqul Islam Babul (Bhasani Janashakti Party); Dr Mostafizur Rahman Iran (Bangladesh Labour Party); Masud Rana (Socialist Party of Bangladesh‑Marxist); and Manjurul Islam Afendi (Jamiat Ulema‑e‑Islam).
The session opened with a minute’s silence and a munajat for victims of the recent Milestone School plane crash.
According to Senior Assistant Press Secretary Foyez Ahammad, the meeting began at 5 pm. It follows Prof Yunus’s earlier talks this week with BNP, Jamaat‑e‑Islami, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, the National Citizen Party, and 13 other parties—including Gonosamhati Andolon, AB Party, Nagorik Oikya, Gono Odhikar Parishad, LDP, Khelafat Maʿjlis, Biplobi Workers Party, JSD, and CPB—as part of his effort to build consensus ahead of the election.
