BNP Leader: Protesting Before July Charter Implementation is Illogical

 Staff Reporter | PNN

BNP views the decision by four political parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Andolan, to announce programs demanding elections in February based on the July National Charter as self-contradictory.

Salahuddin Ahmed, a member of BNP’s Standing Committee, told Prothom Alo, “The procedure for implementing the July Charter has not yet been finalized. In this situation, organizing street protests seems somewhat self-contradictory. However, no party is barred from holding programs as part of their democratic rights.”

He added that the demand by Jamaat and Islami Andolan to conduct elections in the lower house of parliament through the PR system was never part of the National Unity Commission discussions. He noted, “How appropriate it is for one party’s ideals or demands to be imposed on others is a matter to be judged.”

Regarding the demand to ban the National Party and the allied 14-party coalition, Salahuddin said, “We do not support banning any party merely by administrative order. It should be done through judicial process. Whether there is a political motive behind broadly banning any party will be considered by the public.”

The BNP leader also cautioned that it is necessary to examine whom this movement is against—whether the interim government, the National Unity Commission, or BNP itself. It should also be assessed whether the program aims to obstruct the election process.

BNP stated that while everyone has the right to announce programs, any claims made on the ground will be responded to through their own political activities.