Khaleda calls for movement to restore fair polls

BNP chief Khaleda Zia yesterday said it was the moral obligation of the country's people to wage a movement against Sheikh Hasina's “repressive and murderous” government.
The aim of the movement is not about going to power but restoring people's voting and democratic rights, she said. “It is the people who will decide who will rule the country. We just want to ensure people's rights to vote in a free, fair and inclusive election.”
The former prime minister made the remarks while addressing an iftar programme at a city hotel, organised by the Agriculturists Association of Bangladesh, a pro-BNP professional body.
In her brief speech, she urged all not to use farmlands for any other purpose. “It's not right to construct multi-storey buildings, shopping malls or industrial units on farmlands," she said.
"Lands for agriculture will shrink if we do so,” Khaleda said, adding that it would create a deficit in farm production, making the country dependent on imports, which would be harmful.
Portraying a sorry state of the country, she said farmers were not getting fair prices of food grains, and they were not getting electricity, gas and water to produce crops.
People are fed up with the present situation of the country, she said. “We will have to wage a peaceful movement to oust the government after Eid.”