Interim government must maintain highest neutrality: Fakhrul

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir adderessing a news conference at the Gulshan office of the Party on Friday._11zon

Stating that the interim government must maintain the highest neutrality, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that a vigilant eye must be kept on ensuring that the agenda of gaining political benefits for any group does not become part of the government's work plan.

The BNP Secretary General said this at a press conference at the BNP Chairperson's office in Gulshan in the capital on Saturday.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir commented that doubts have been created in the public mind due to some advisers of the interim government being directly or indirectly involved in the process of forming political parties while in power. He also believes that there is no room for such unnecessary debates as reform before - after elections, or before elections - after reform.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that since reform is an ongoing process, both the reform and election processes can go on simultaneously. A reform charter can be prepared based on the consensus of the political parties, which the elected government will later implement. In such a situation, the main thing for the interim government to do now is to organize a free and impartial national election quickly after the necessary reforms based on consensus for holding a fair, free and acceptable election and hand over responsibility to the elected government.

He said that the elected government will complete the reforms desired by the consensus of the people. Because, it is possible to implement acceptable reforms only by an elected government that is accountable to the people and committed to ensuring justice and good governance. The fact that some advisers of the interim government are directly or indirectly involved in the process of forming political parties from their positions has created doubts in the public mind. Various signs and evidence of using the administrative machinery in this process are gradually emerging, which is not at all pleasant for the country and democracy.

The BNP Secretary General said that in the spreadsheet sent by the National Consensus Commission, one thing that has been revealed is that the issues that could have been put on the agenda have been asked to be answered with yes or no, without putting a proposal. For example, do we want the proposals to be implemented through the Constituent Assembly? Say yes or no. But first, we have to decide whether we agree with the proposals of the Constituent Assembly? Similarly, whether we want the proposals to be implemented through the parliament elected as a 'referendum', 'Constituent Assembly and Legislative Assembly', etc. Say yes or no.

Although very important issues like the 'proposals' of the Constitution are in the recommendations of the Reform Commission, they are not mentioned in the spreadsheet. Although about 70 proposals are mentioned in the spreadsheet, the number of recommendations in the main report is about 123.

Mirza Fakhrul said that similarly, although about 150 recommendations were made in the main report of the Electoral Reform Commission, only 27 issues have been mentioned in the spreadsheet, most of which are related to constitutional reform. Therefore, we believe that adding our opinion on the main recommendations to the spreadsheet will avoid confusion.

There are similarities between the status in the spreadsheet of the National Consensus Commission and the statements of the commission members at different times and the statements of certain political parties, which may raise questions in the public mind that all issues are part of a pre-determined action plan, which is difficult to say whether it is in the interest of democracy.

A review of the recommendations shows that there is an unreasonable attempt to appoint unelected people to state responsibilities in the future, which is undesirable.

BNP Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, Selima Rahman and Saleh Uddin Ahmed were also present at the press conference.