Shawdesh Desk:

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party alleged on Friday that the ruling Awami League as well as the government had turned the country’s jails into concentration camps.

‘They [AL and authorities] are torturing the BNP people in jail and police custody, putting them to death,’ BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said at a virtual press conference.

Referring to the death of the eight persons in jail custody since October 28, he said, ‘At present, BNP leaders and activists are continuously dying in Sheikh Hasina’s prison.’

Earlier on the day, Rizvi, while distributing leaflets in the Dhanmondi area among people to motivate them not to go to the polling stations on January 7, said that a country was directly interfering in Bangladesh to hold a ‘dummy’ election.

‘The prime minister yesterday [Thursday] said that conspiracies are going on at home and abroad regarding the election. It’s you who are conspiring against the election. A neighbouring country is directly interfering to  hold a dummy election in Bangladesh,’ the BNP leader said.

Rizvi also accused the government of trying to turn Bangladesh into a buffer state by sacrificing the country’s independence and sovereignty only to retain power.

‘But people won’t let their blueprint succeed,’ he said.

Stating that people are the owners of the country, the BNP leader also said that the government was trying to dodge foreigners by holding a dummy election, ignoring public opinion.

‘We urge voters to boycott this dummy election… stay home on polling day, don’t go to the polling stations. Say no to this illegal election without going to the polling stations,’ he said.

As part of their party’s countrywide programme, Rizvi, along with some BNP leaders and activists, distributed leaflets at the kitchen market at Dhanmondi-15 in the capital in the morning.

BNP and like-minded opposition parties have been observing a leaflet distribution and mass contact programme to drum up public support in favour of their call for boycotting the January 7 election and not cooperating with the Awami League government.

On Thursday, the party extended the mass contact and leaflet distribution programme for another two days until Saturday.

BNP, along with nearly three dozen opposition political parties, have been carrying out a simultaneous movement since December last year to force the current government to quit and hold the 12th parliamentary election under a non-party neutral administration.

BNP’s movement lost its momentum following clashes with law enforcers during the party’s grand rally on October 28 as many senior leaders, including its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, were arrested while many others went into hiding in the face of a crackdown by law enforcers.

However, the BNP and like-minded parties have enforced countrywide blockades for 23 days in 12 phases and hartals for five days in four spells since October 29.

The opposition party came up with the call for a non-cooperation movement on December 20.