People will decide on PR system: Salahuddin

NN ONLINE:

BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed today said it is ultimately up to the people to decide whether the next national election should be held under the Proportional Representation (PR) system.

“BNP believes in resolving the matter through dialogue. If there is a demand for elections under the PR system, the people will decide. We believe the issue should be resolved at the negotiation table,” said Salahuddin as chief guest at a dialogue hosted by Tarunner Rashtrya Chinta at the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) in the city.

The BNP leader, however, criticized Jamaat-e-Islami’s stance, calling their simultaneous calls for dialogue and protests contradictory.

“If Jamaat is confident about winning the election, they should participate. Why are they refraining from contesting and instead creating obstacles with various excuses? One cannot engage in both dialogue and protest at the same time. It’s self-contradictory,” he said.

Salahuddin also expressed concern over student representatives joining the government.

“In democratic practice, it is unheard of for someone to be part of both the ruling party and the opposition. The day student representatives joined the government, I realized they could no longer contribute to true nation-building,” he said. “It’s not just about me asking them to step down, they themselves must feel the responsibility to do so.”

Reaffirming BNP’s commitment to democratic values, Salahuddin said, “There can be no coexistence of government and opposition within the same entity. No political party should impose its demands on the nation. We must uphold anti-fascist national unity and avoid creating a political crisis.”