AL is not only a vote thief but also a thief of Bangladesh’s economy — Mirza Alamgir

The all-pervasive corruption by the current government has robbed the country of its resources as the Awami League’s main objective is to indulge in graft and siphoning off money abroad, said main Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday, March 19, 2023. 

‘There is a slogan in India — thieves are in every alley and lane — and this leader, I don’t want to mention anyone’s name, is a thief. Now our slogan is “vote thief”,’ he said.

Speaking at a rally in the city, the BNP leader said that the current ruling party was not only a vote thief but was also a thief of Bangladesh’s economy. ‘The entire country and the economy have been ruined because of the Awami League’s corruption.’

A people’s government, in its true sense, must be established by removing the corrupt one, he went on to say.

He said that the BNP, together with other parties and people of the country, would force the Awami League regime to quit and hold the next polls under a caretaker government by dissolving the parliament.

Mirza Alamgir called upon party leaders and activists to get ready to intensify the ongoing movement.  ‘The government, which has been in power by force without elections by using the state machinery, must be forced to quit by applying all our strengths.’

Stating that 17 leaders and activists of the BNP have lost their lives in the ongoing anti-government movement since August, 2022, he said that there was no alternative for the BNP to make the struggle a success to honor the sacrifices of the slain party men.

The BNP Dhaka south and north city units together organized the rally in front of the party’s Naya Paltan central office to press home their 10-point demands, including holding the next general election under a non-party caretaker government.

The protest was also meant for registering the opposition party’s protest against the ‘all-pervasive corruption’ by the Awami  League government, rise in the prices of power, gas and essential items and for mounting pressure on the government to release BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia without any condition, essentially to drop the ‘false’ cases against her.

Referring to a report carried by British weekly The Economist, the BNP leader said that the admired development model of Bangladesh had collapsed like a cracked balloon due to rising corruption.

He said that there was no option but to unseat the government to get rid of corruption. ‘The country’s existence will be at stake if this regime clings to power.’

He also questioned the justification of the Tk 7 lakh Hajj package announced by the government this year. ‘Such a bad game is their old habit. The common people who intend to perform Hajj have to pay Tk 7 lakh. Whereas the cost is 2.5 lakh rupees in India and four lakh rupees in Pakistan. Then why should it be Tk 7 lakh in Bangladesh?’

As part of the day’s program under the simultaneous opposition movement, the BNP also arranged rallies in all other metropolitan cities across the country.

Apart from the BNP, the Ganatantra Mancha, Jatiyatabadi Samamona Jote, Gono Forum, People’s Party, Jatiyatabadi Samamona Jote, Peshajibi Ganatantrik Jote, 12-party alliance, Bam Ganatantrik Oikya and LDP held separate rallies in different areas of the capital.