An eager group is trying to delay the national elections: Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday said a vested quarter is trying to delay the upcoming national elections.

“Delaying the election means destroying us and destroying this country. An elected government is very much needed right now,” he said while calling on the interim government to hold the election soon.

The veteran BNP leader was speaking as the chief guest at a view-exchange meeting with Thakurgaon district freedom fighters and their children on Monday morning.

Fakhrul alleged that an attempt is underway to delay the election by creating division in society using religious sentiments. In this context, he emphasised the need to resist the attempt.

The BNP Secretary General said thousands of innocent people were killed in 1971, while many women were brutally tortured and murdered.

“If you want to forget those days, how can you forget them? A group killed them in a planned way in collusion with the Pakistani occupation forces during the 1971 Liberation War,” he added.

He mentioned that a quarter is trying to destroy the spirit and sacrifice of the Liberation War, although the country was liberated following the sacrifice of thousands of people.

In this context, he said the country’s people cannot forget the 2024 uprising and the 1971 Liberation War too.

“The 1971 is true and the 2024 is true too. In 1971, we liberated the country by driving out the Pakistani forces, and on the other hand, we gained a country free from fascism in 2024,” he said.

The BNP Secretary General said: "The country is ours, this land is ours, and we have to keep these people alive; we have to take the country on the path of prosperity."

He added, "In 1971, Khaleda Zia and her two sons – Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman Koko – were imprisoned by the Pakistani army. So, the Liberation War is in our hearts, which no one can take away."

Chaired by convener of Thakurgaon District Muktijoddha Unit Command Nur Karim, the meeting was attended, among others, by Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad Central Command Council convener Naeem Jahangir, member secretary Sadek Ahmed Khan, Thakurgaon District BNP president Mirza Faisal Amin, and former state minister and member of the Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad Central Command Council Alhaj Mansur Ali Sarkar.