Ershad slams AL, BNP's “lust for power”

Former military dictator HM Ershad yesterday lambasted ruling Awami League and BNP, accusing the former of wanting to stay in power at any cost and the latter of wanting to grab it in any possible way.

“People are now in panic that they could be shot, petrol-bombed or die in crossfire,” the Jatiya Party chairman told a council of the Dhaka city north unit of the party's youth wing Jubo Sanghati in the Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh.

The special envoy to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has recently sent letters to all political parties inviting them to a national convention to solve the present political crisis. The party insiders say none responded till yesterday.     

Ershad asked BNP to stop the blockade and all kinds of violence immediately to bring back peace. “It is not possible to restore democracy by hurling petrol bombs.”

He said it was sad that people were begging politicians for their lives while it was these politicians who had begged people for votes.

Killings by arson exceed the Pakistan occupation army's brutality during the Liberation War. These incidents have brought shame upon politicians whom, and the politics, most people do not want to see, he said.

Ershad claimed that only Jatiya Party plays a positive role in politics and would bring back peace if it comes to power.