‘Advisers not fit to be our opponents’: BNP’s Nazrul

Shawdesh desk:

Expressing his annoyance at the criticism of political parties by the interim government, Senior BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan on Thursday said that the advisers of the current administration were not even worthy of being considered as opponents to the politicians.

“Why should they (advisers) criticise established political parties and make comments about them? Do they regard the political parties as their opponents? We do not consider them as our opponents, as they are not worthy of being our opponents. We engage in politics, but they do not. So, why should they be our opponents?” he told a discussion.

The Rajshahi University Nationalist Ex-Student Association (RUNESA) organised the programme at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU), commemorating the bloody incident that took place on Rajshahi University campus on 22 December 1984.

Nazrul, a BNP standing committee member, said the current government is not a usurper, as it was established by the people of the country and the political parties that waged a movement against the Sheikh Hasina regime.

“We expect that they’ll try to resolve the problems people are facing in their daily lives, put on trial those involved in various crimes, including killings and enforced disappearances, and arrange for an election after creating the necessary conditions for the restoration of democracy, for which we have long been struggling,” he said.

The BNP leader lamented that some advisers of the interim government are unnecessarily speaking against political parties. “We will participate in the election. Will they join the election to stand against us? They won’t do that. So, why should they make such comments?” he asked.

He also slammed Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan for her remark that politicians had done nothing for the country over the past 53 years.

Nazrul said their party founder, Ziaur Rahman, inherited a famine-stricken country but transformed its economy through various initiatives, including increasing food production, establishing the garment sector, and promoting the export of fish from the sea. “Are these not significant achievements?”

He urged the advisers to question the contributions of politicians only after making significant achievements for the country, as Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia had done.