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Published : 14 Oct 2013, 07:57 PM
BNP’s Acting Secretary General makes the call amid warnings from the government asking the opposition to not to try and thwart the national election.
“The quarter finals and the semi finals are over. There are only seven days left. Now is the time to play the final round. For us there is no alternative to victory in this game,’ said Fakhrul.
The BNP Chairperson Khaleda, leading in a long campaign for polls under a non-party government, has announced a hard-line campaign to topple the government after Oct 24.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina retaliated to Opposition threats on Sunday saying, “If they want to spell doom for the people then know that we are the ones responsible for their protection. It is our duty to safeguard their lives and belongings.”
File Photo
The BNP’s anti-government campaign begins on the first day of the countdown to election, due to be held between Oct 25 and Jan 24, i.e. within 90 days before Parliament session ends.
The BNP and Awami League have both called rallies in Dhaka on Oct 25, raising fears of possible clashes.
“We will fight back if the Awami League attacks. Everyone must prepare with machetes, axes, spears, sticks and whatever else we have,” senior BNP leader Sadeque Hossain Khoka said, responding to the Awami League’s call to its workers to be on the streets to resist the opposition.
The government and the Parliament will remain in effect during the election since the 15th amendment to the Constitution scrapped the system of holding election under a caretaker government.
The business advisory committee has decided to continue the ongoing parliament session till Oct 24.
The BNP has been demanding that the government pass a bill for holding the election under a non-party government within the time that is left of the session.
But Sheikh Hasina, president of the ruling party Awami League, said the session will be allowed to continue.
She dismissed the BNP claim that the government would lose its validity after Oct 24, saying the term of the current assembly will end on Jan 24.
She said, "Nowhere is it said that the Parliament cannot continue [after Oct 24]. In fact, it can sit until the day before the election schedule is announced... if the President does not dissolve it."
Fakhrul’s call for final preparations on Monday came as the chasm between Bangladesh’s two major parties widened with just a few days left before parliament is set to end.
“We must remember that we will remain only if we win this game, otherwise we will no longer exist,” said Fakhrul in a meeting at the BNP’s Naya Paltan headquarters ahead of the party’s Oct 25 rally.
He responded to the Prime Minister’s announcement that parliament sessions would continue beyond Oct 24, saying “the government knows that their party Awami League will not exist if it’s not in power. They are afraid; so they are saying Parliament will stay.”
“Many from the Awami League have already left the country. There are news reports that suggest Awami Leaguers are very afraid. Some of them have shipped their families abroad,” he said.
“Do not betray the people at the end of your term,” Fakhrul warned the Awami League. “If you do, you will not find a way out.”
