BNP leaders will join city polls wearing veil: Quader

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said although the BNP does not directly participate in the upcoming city elections, it will participate in the polls wearing a veil, which is the hypocrisy of its politics.

"The BNP did not participate in local government elections at different levels with the party symbol (sheaf of paddy), but the party had its candidates wearing veils. Candidates wearing veils will also participate in the upcoming city polls," he said while speaking at a view-exchange meeting at the AL Bangabandhu Avenue central office in the capital, reports BSS.

On the occasion of the historic Mujibnagar Day to be observed on April 17, the view-exchange meeting was held with presidents and general secretaries of Meherpur, Chuadanga, Kushtia, Jhenaidah and Jesshore district units of AL, and local parliament members and zila parishad chairmen.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said Sylhet city mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury has already announced that he will participate in city elections and in other cities, the BNP will give candidates, as independent ones, wearing veils.

He said a section under the leadership of the BNP does not observe the days related to the country's independence and the 1971 Liberation War.

"The historic Mujibnagar Day (April 17) is one of those. You will see that the BNP will not take any programme on this day," he added.

Claiming that the BNP does not observe March 7, the AL general secretary said June 7 is an important day in the country's long struggle for independence, but the BNP does not observe this day too.

Quader said even the BNP does not mention the name of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in its programmes taken on Victory Day and the Independence Day.

The BNP is still continuing the trend that BNP founder Ziaur Rahman started, he said, adding that the BNP followed it during its reign and the BNP leaders are still upholding the same ideology. "They do not believe in the spirit of Liberation War and Independence," he added.

Ziaur Rahman was only a reader of the Declaration of Independence and a reader could not be the declarer, the AL general secretary said.

He reiterated that many read the Declaration of Independence, but Bangabandhu had the only legitimate right to proclaim independence as the people gave him that mandate in the 1970 elections.

AL joint general secretaries Mahbubul Alam Hanif and AFM Bahauddin Nasim, organising secretary BM Mozammel Haque, office secretary Barrister Biplab Barua, state minister for public administration Farhad Hossain, AL deputy publicity secretary Syed Abdul Awal Shamim, deputy office secretary Sayem Khan, among others, were present at the meeting.