Fakhrul rejects Hasina’s call to join parliament as ‘bid to deceive people’

He says the prime minister’s call for a national unity after “vote rigging” is “nothing but another attempt to deceive the people”.

“How can we even call it a parliament? We’ve already rejected the election results. So the question of taking oath or joining parliament does not arise,” the BNP secretary general told bdnews24.com over phone on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Hasina, in her first address to the nation after taking charge for the fourth term, called upon the opposition MPs-elect to take oath and promised that their views and constructive criticism will be properly valued in parliament.

“The people’s views were not reflected in the elections and the ruling party actually robbed the people of their votes. It’s unprecedented in Bangladesh’s history,” Fakhrul remarked.

“And now they are calling the opposition to parliament,” he added.

Mirza Fakhrul is among the six BNP candidates who won in the Dec 30 elections to 299 seats in parliament. The Awami League has formed government for the third consecutive term after winning 257 constituencies.

He reiterated the party’s demand for fresh elections alleging widespread vote rigging and intimidation of their candidates and supporters.

The BNP sat out of parliament for five years after the boycott of the 2014 polls. It contested in the last election under the umbrella of the Oikya Front alliance led by Dr Kamal Hossain with party chief Khaleda Zia in jail for corruption.

The party and its allies rejected the results of the 11th parliamentary polls.

Their candidates, who won the elections, will not take oath as MPs, the alliance said.

The Awami League’s key ally the Jatiya Party has been made the official opposition in parliament with 22 seats.