Caretaker first, dialogue next: Fakhrul
June 10, 2023
Bangladesh desk: Terming the government’s call for talks as ‘trap,’ Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir urged the government to step down first and hand over the power to a caretaker government before sit for dialogue.
Criticizing the ministers’ remarks on dialogue, the BNP secretary general said, “They (government) also offered proposals for dialogue in the past. We thought that something good would happen. We were cheated twice. None will listen to them anymore.”
They (government) did not keep their promises in the past, he added.
Fakhrul made the remarks at a commemoration meeting of former BNP leader Gautam Chakrabarty arranged by Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Kalyan Front at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Saturday.
Addressing the government, Fakhrul said, “Quit first and hand over power to caretaker government before sit for dialogue. You have organised two managed elections. BNP would not step into the trap for the third time.”
Awami League would not get even 10 per cent of the seats in parliament if a fair election is held, said the BNP secretary general.
Fakhrul said the government has indulged in corruption in the name of development. “They killed democracy. We have said there is no development without democracy. Today, it is being said around the world. Foreign newspapers write that the economy of Bangladesh is underground.”
