The judiciary is also not being freed from the control of the BNP, Sarjis Alam, chief organiser for the northern region of the National Citizen Party (NCP), alleged on Tuesday.
Speaking at an event introducing the green panel of the Lawyers’ Unity Council for the Dhaka Bar Association election, Sarjis said the people want freedom from hostage situations and abuse of power.
“Due to limitations of experience or any other reason in the national election, we could not protect the vote. There has been rigging in the by-election,” he claimed.
Sarjis urged lawyers not to allow a single vote to be stolen in the upcoming bar election.
“This election is about restoring people’s trust, about whether you can protect their votes if they vote for you in the future,” he said.
“We who stand for justice – there is no room for division in our struggle. Even a small division can push us away from victory,” he added.
ATM Azharul Islam, Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer and Rangpur-2 lawmaker, said at the same event that the government is forcing people onto the streets within two months.
“An issue that should be resolved in parliament should not be taken to the streets. You have come to power by rigging the results. You know this, and the people also know it. Do not disregard the verdict of a referendum,” he said.
Tajul Islam, former Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal, said the July uprising was not merely for a change of power but to radically transform Bangladesh.
“We want a judicial system where judges do not bow their heads to the executive,” he said. “We want to see a transformed judiciary where a magistrate does not hesitate to issue an order even against the Prime Minister herself.”
Supreme Court senior lawyer Shishir Monir said the government has abolished the Judicial Secretariat despite there being no “note of dissent” regarding it in their July charter.
“If we cannot protect the judiciary, attempts are being made to dismantle the constitution by force of a two-thirds majority,” Monir warned.
The Dhaka Bar Association election will be held on 29 and 30 April. BNP and like-minded parties are participating under the banner of the Nationalist Lawyers’ Unity Panel (Blue Panel), while Jamaat and NCP-supported candidates are running under the banner of the Lawyers’ Unity Council (Green Panel).
The event was moderated by Advocate Abdur Razzak, Senior Vice-President of the Dhaka Bar Association, and attended by Barrister Nazrul Islam, Advocate Abdur Rahman Musa, and other leaders of Jamaat and the NCP.
