Desk Report:
At a rally held in Chittagong city on Friday, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Chittagong region director Muhammad Shahjahan said that Jamaat-e-Islami will be the government party, and BNP will have to join the opposition.
Criticizing his statement, BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said to Jamaat-e-Islami on Saturday, “Brothers, have you decided whether BNP will join the opposition or let the people decide? When you are so confident that you will be the government party, why don’t you come to the elections? Why are you trying to disrupt the elections with this excuse today, this excuse tomorrow, this excuse the day after tomorrow? We know what the purpose is. I will tell you a few days later.”
He said these things at a discussion meeting organized at the Diploma Engineers Institute auditorium in Kakrail in the capital. The meeting titled ‘Education and Educational Spaces with Human Values’, the third dialogue on the state of youth, was organized by an organization called Arpan Alok Sangha.
Regarding the programs of seven parties including Jamaat, he said, “The people are seeing who you are agitating for now as a simultaneous partner. There is one party among them, if I take its name, it will be difficult again. On January 7, 2024, “I-Dummy” participated in the elections. You will find the names among the seven parties.”
Urging a settlement at the negotiation table, Salahuddin said, “You can go to the movement with different demands, everyone has democratic rights. We were saying that the issues that are still waiting to be settled at the negotiation table, did you go to the streets to apply additional pressure? We also have to go to the streets to protest to clear the air of that pressure. Is that what we want now? We want a settlement at the negotiation table.”
Salahuddin commented that the people will decide whether the 11th National Assembly elections will be held under the proportional representation or PR (Proportional Representation) system or not.
He said, “If the negotiation table and the movement are on the same issue, then it is self-contradictory. If PR is wanted, the people will decide. How many streets did we march on, how many meetings did we hold at the divisional level, did we march with two or three thousand people, did PR become established?’
Salauddin said to the seven parties including Jamaat, which were agitating for several demands including holding elections through the PR system, ‘You should mention your demands in the election manifesto and come to the elections. If the people vote in your favor, vote in favor of the manifesto, you will implement it. This is the democratic system.
‘I will appeal to all political parties and the countrymen, let us not create any more crises. Let us all remain united. Let us uphold the national unity that has been formed against fascism and by turning it into strength, we will be able to continue democratic practices and build a democratic state. Only then will we be successful in building a strong, economically prosperous democratic state and fulfilling the dreams of all our martyrs.’
At that time, the BNP leader said about the National Citizen Party (NCP), ‘I think they (NCP) did not make the right decision to take charge of this interim government. Then they could have played a role as a pressure group to guide the nation today. They are still sitting in the government as student representatives.’
During the discussion, chaired by Arpan Alok Sangha President Beethika Binte Hossain, the Dean of the Faculty of Science of Dhaka University, Professor Abdus Salam, Chhatra Dal VP candidate Abidul Islam Khan in the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) elections held on September 9, General Secretary candidate Sheikh Tanvir Bari Hameem, AGS candidate Tanvir Al Hadi Mayed and students from various educational institutions also spoke.
