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Published : 29 Jul 2025, 05:16 PM
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has dismissed claims that his party is wary of reforms, saying that it welcomes them. However, he believes “the problem lies elsewhere”.
“The problem is that all these new ideas are being brought in, but our country and our nation are not familiar with them,” Fakhrul said at a discussion at Dhaka’s Jatiya Press Club on Tuesday.
Praising the National Consensus Commission, he said: “We are very happy when we see positive news in the newspaper. Our brother [Asaduzzaman] Ripon only says negative things. He does not see anything good. But I see a few good things.
“I see the good because, today, I saw in the newspaper that all the parties have come together to agree on change on 12 basic issues. This is a positive step and I thank [the consensus commission’s Vice-Chairman] Dr Ali Riaz, who has worked tirelessly and tried to at least get us to that point alongside his team.”
Addressing critics, the senior BNP leader said: “Many people talk about us negatively, saying that we do not want reforms. The very idea of reforms is ours. Reform starts with us.”
To support this claim, he cited the role of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman and his wife, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, after 1975.
However, Fakhrul said that the BNP objected to accepting the “imposition” of foreign ideas in the name of reform.
Giving an example, he said, "This PR - proportional representation - in the lower house, it is not understood by the people of our country.
"The people say - what is PR, brother? Those who still do not understand how to vote using EVMs, and as a result do not vote using EVMs, how can they understand PR? We need to move away from this thinking.”
He said, "Unfortunately, a few of political parties in our country promote it. And not just promote, either. They are staking the claim that they will not take part in the elections if it is not included. What can I say?"
Addressing the interim government, the BNP secretary general said: "Our problems will only be solved if the people of this country can take part in the kind of voting that they are used to, arrange for their representation, and arrange for a parliament where the people have representatives. It is impossible otherwise."
"The country's problems cannot be solved by people coming in from outside and making use of new ideas. We want to state very clearly - complete the reforms without delay, immediately announce the July Charter, and please hold the election on the date that you have set in a meeting with our party's acting chairman Tarique Rahman in London, at a time that the nation has been inspired and hopeful about, and restore the people's right to vote."
The discussion was held at the Jatiya Press Club to mark the fifth death anniversary of former Jatiyotabadi Shechhashebok Dal president Shafiul Bari Babu.
