Was Jatiya Party alone in legitimising elections under Hasina regime? asks GM Quader

He questions why his party is being singled out despite the BNP and other parties participating in elections under the Sheikh Hasina regime

Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader has rebuffed claims that the party was an 'accomplice' to the deposed Sheikh Hasina regime and that it had legitimised elections held under her administration by participating in them.

Quader made the remarks at a media briefing on Friday, a day after protesters vandalised and set fire to the Jatiya Party central office in Dhaka's Bijoynagar amid tensions between the party and the Anti-discrimination Student Movement.

In a Facebook post targeting the Jatiya Party shortly before the attack, Hasnat Abdullah, one of the coordinators of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, wrote: “The ouster of the national traitors is now certain.”

The Jatiya Party chief condemned the attack and said that a rally scheduled for Saturday would go ahead as planned outside the party’s central office.

Describing the attack as unexpected, he said, “A group under the banner of the student movement attacked our office after sunset. Our activists defended themselves, but later, they regrouped and returned to set the office on fire.”

Quader alleged that a group led by a 'Student Rights Council leader' under the banner of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement carried out the attack.

He added that Saturday's rally aims to raise awareness of the “injustices and discrimination” faced by the Jatiya Party. He called on party members to attend the rally, emphasising the constitutional right to assemble.

“We believe in political coexistence and want the country to progress through dialogue and consensus. We have never harboured enmity against any party. We have always tried to foster unity and peaceful relations with all political parties,” Quader said.

Criticising a recent push to 'brand' the Jatiya Party as an ally of the Awami League, he said, “It is being said that we were an accomplice to the Awami Leauge and therefore, we should be held accountable for their misdeeds and punished."

“But this accusation is baseless. There is no justification for it, which is why we didn't pay much attention to it. But it has been growing louder recently."

He continued: “How can we be allies of the Awami League? In 2008, we formed the Grand Alliance, and that election was globally recognised as free and fair. Yes, I served as a minister in Sheikh Hasina's cabinet. But I didn't support any wrongdoing. I only represented the Jatiya Party in the alliance."

Highlighting his disagreements with deposed prime minister Hasina, he said, “She wanted to use second-hand planes for Hajj flights, which wasn’t legally permissible. I tried to bring in new planes. When she pressured me, I considered resigning. I wasn’t involved in anything against the public’s interest or unethical practices with her.”

Quader clarified that the Jatiya Party only considered the Awami League’s rule legitimate for the first five years. “Some say we validated their rule for 15 years. Only the 10 years after 2014 could be considered questionable because the period from 2008 to 2014 was completely legitimate.”

He continued, “The BNP and almost all other parties participated in local elections under the then-Election Commission, under that prime minister and her government. Did they not validate it? They even accepted that government's election system and joined the 2018 election. Is it only the Jatiya Party that gave legitimacy?”

He alleged that the Jatiya Party was 'blackmailed' into joining the 2024 elections. According to Quader, the seeds of division were sown into the Jatiya Party after 2014 and “a government-backed faction benefitted from favouritism, sidelining the main party".

Responding to accusations that the Jatiya Party allied with the Awami League but never the BNP, Quader said, “In 2001, the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami alliance won by a landslide but soon became champions of corruption and extrajudicial killings. They even created a parallel administrative structure. They formed the Rapid Action Battalion after which, extrajudicial killings began. There was no scope to align with BNP after 1/11.”

He also underlined the Jatiya Party’s support of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement and said, “We prayed for the students' safety and did everything we could to ensure that the movement succeeded. We issued daily statements despite knowing the risks.”

However, he expressed disappointment at the recent divisions in the country. “It’s unfortunate that the country is now divided. Some have taken control, and they're the ones deciding who should face judgment. If Sheikh Hasina’s discriminatory treatment is repeated with us, where will we go?”