Three advisers serving one party, misleading CA: Jamaat
Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami naib-e-ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher has alleged that three advisers of the interim government are acting on behalf of a political party and attempting to influence the chief adviser with “incorrect information” to weaken the prospects of a free and fair national election.
Speaking at a joint press conference of the eight-party Islamist alliance on Friday morning at the Al-Falah Auditorium near Jamaat’s central office in Moghbazar, Dhaka, Taher claimed that these advisers were “manipulating” the chief adviser with the intention of steering the government into a situation where transparent elections become unattainable.
“Let me state very clearly: three advisers are misleading the chief adviser in various ways, supplying him with incorrect information and manipulating him,” Taher said. “By doing so, they are covertly attempting to steer the government towards a situation where a free and fair election cannot take place.”
His remarks came a day after the chief adviser’s televised address to the nation, which outlined the government’s plan to hold the next parliamentary election and a referendum on implementing the July National Charter on the same day in February.
The proposal has drawn criticism from several political parties, including Jamaat and its allies, who argue that combining the two votes would diminish the referendum’s significance.
Taher reiterated that holding the referendum alongside the national election would divert public attention away from the reform vote. The parliamentary polls, he said, would “naturally draw greater attention,” leaving the referendum overshadowed.
A low turnout, he warned, would allow those opposed to the July reforms to question the referendum’s legitimacy.
“If voter turnout in the referendum remains low due to lack of public focus, those who oppose the reforms will claim that low turnout indicates the people did not want the referendum,” he said. “They would then use this pretext to withdraw from the reform process.”
Describing this as the “trap” set by a particular political party, Taher argued that the government—whether unintentionally, deliberately, or under manipulation—had walked directly into it, thereby “rendering the reform process almost insignificant.”
The Jamaat leader further accused the government of repeatedly showing “loyalty or weakness” towards the same political party. This pattern, he said, began when the announcement of the upcoming election date was made in London. The Election Commission’s subsequent release of the election roadmap without engaging other political actors only reinforced that perception of bias.
Friday’s press conference was attended by senior leaders from the eight-party alliance, including Jamaat assistant secretary general Abdul Halim; Sheikh Fazle Bari Masud, joint secretary general of Islami Andolan Bangladesh; Yusuf Ashraf, senior naib-e-ameer of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis; Musa Bin Izhar, secretary general of Nezam-e-Islam Party; Rashid Pradhan, spokesperson of the Jatiya Ganatatrik Party (JAGPA); and Kazi Nizamul Haque, secretary general of the Bangladesh Development Party.
The alliance—comprising Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Khelafat Majlis, Nezam-e-Islam Party, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Bangladesh Development Party, and the Jatiya Ganatantrik Party (NDP)—has been waging a coordinated movement pressing five key demands. These include issuing a constitutional order to implement the July National Charter, holding the referendum within November, and guaranteeing a level playing field for all political parties ahead of the election.
Taher urged the interim government to “correct its course” and ensure that the referendum receives both proper prominence and public participation, warning that any attempt to dilute the reform process would deepen political mistrust at a critical moment in Bangladesh’s transition period.