Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher has said that the government has bowed to one party over the decision to hold the referendum on election day.
Referring to the BNP, he said the government had fallen into that party’s trap and arranged two votes on the same day to make the reforms insignificant.
He made these remarks on Friday at a press conference on behalf of the eight protesting parties at Al-Falah auditorium in Moghbazar, Dhaka.
Taher said examples from several university student union elections show that holding a referendum before the national polls would go against the ideology of a particular party.
“Out of that fear, the party did not want the referendum earlier,” he said, adding that the government should hold the referendum before the election.
He further alleged that three government advisers were misleading the chief adviser and working to bring a specific party to power. A written complaint against them will be submitted soon, he added.
Taher also claimed that recent administrative reshuffles were placing supporters of that party in key positions, undermining the possibility of a neutral election.
Taher said that although 90% of political parties had agreed on various decisions in the consensus commission, the chief adviser bypassed the commission’s recommendations to favour one party.
Leaders of eight protesting political groups—Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolon Bangladesh, Khelafat Majlis, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolon, Bangladesh Nezame Islam Party, Jatiya Ganatantrik Party (JAGPA) and Bangladesh Development Party—attended the press conference.
