Govt heading to one party rule

The government has completed all preparations to run the country under a one-party administration, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said yesterday.

It is fascism going on in the country, he said.

"They have put on a mask of democracy…none has the right to say anything. If someone dissents, they have to face false cases and will be sent to jail," Fakhrul told a discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in the capital.

The  Amar Desh organised it to mark 1,000 days of detention of its editor Mahmudur Rahman and suspension of the newspaper's publication. Mahmudur, arrested on April 11, 2013, faces 75 cases over sedition, arson and corruption. 

Meanwhile, Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Zafrullah Chowdhury, speaking at the discussion, thanked BNP chief Khaleda Zia for her remarks that there were controversies about the number of the Liberation War martyrs.

“The BNP chief has brought to the fore again the initiative [to determine the number of war martyrs] taken by Sheikh Mujib. You have highlighted Sheikh Mujib, rising above meanness. That's why I would like to thank you,” he said.

Fakhrul said the only option the people had now was to oust the government." Recognising the failure of BNP's movement, he said they would succeed soon.

The BNP leader demanded immediate release of Mahmudur and journalist leader Shawkat Mahmud.