Salahuddin alleges strategic poll withdrawal by a political party

BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed on Saturday said a political party was trying to withdraw itself from upcoming election to debar democratic transition but warned their effort would yield futile results.

"Those who want to create obstacles on the path of democratic transition, their objectives will never succeed. We will not give any such opportunity. Democracy will definitely return to the country," he said joining a dialogue with families of enforced disappearances.

He said BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman recently postponed a planned North Bengal tour at Election Commission’s request which some parties and officials saw as BNP’s “weakness”.

"It is wrong to consider BNP's politeness as a sign of weakness. Rather it is an effort to maintain gentleness and peace. BNP wants to advance democracy," Salahuddin Ahmed said at the event.

Amra BNP Poribar and Mayer Dak jointly organised the event with members of victim families from across the country at the China-Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka.

This senior BNP leader also said for a protracted period people lived under a monstrous state machine while now “we are free from it”.

“We are speaking freely, standing in this Bangladesh, freed from fascism, regained through the blood of our children. Such sacrifice, such bloodshed, such self-immolation, was seen nowhere in the world,” he said.

Salahuddin Ahmed further said that nobody must forget those who gave their lives to save the country from fascism.