Fakhrul denies one-party rule allegations

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday dismissed allegations that the BNP is attempting to establish one-party rule, saying the party has spent the past five decades fighting to uphold democracy in the country.

“BNP has never believed in a one-party system. We have been struggling for the establishment and protection of democracy for the last 50 years,” he told reporters after visiting the graves of July Uprising martyrs at North Islampur graveyard in Munshiganj.

His comments came a day after Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Leader of the Opposition Shafiqur Rahman alleged at a rally in Narayanganj that the BNP-led government was working to establish one-party rule in the country.

Asked to respond to the allegation, Fakhrul said it would be better to put the question directly to the opposition leader to clarify what he meant, adding that the BNP could only state for its own part that it does not believe in a one-party system.

He went on to criticize Jamaat-e-Islami directly, describing it as a regimented political party that does not believe in democracy.

Asked about Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s upcoming visit to Malaysia, Fakhrul, who is also the BNP secretary general, said strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries would be a key focus of the trip. He said he hoped the discussions would also touch on reopening Malaysia’s labour market for Bangladeshi workers, which has remained largely closed for an extended period.

Earlier in the day, Fakhrul inaugurated the foundation stone for a two-storey market at Bhoberchar Bazar and the Kalitala-Hoglakandi road development project in Gazaria upazila, both implemented by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED).

In the afternoon, he attended a meeting at the Munshiganj Circuit House auditorium, where officials discussed infrastructure development projects, transport connectivity, and other development initiatives planned for the district.