Bangladesh’s opposition parties have threatened a violent overthrow of the government rather than face the general elections.
Bangladesh opposition parties Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami
Bangladesh’s opposition parties, the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami have threatened an armed overthrow of the Awami League government rather than face them in the polls. The Bangladesh general elections are scheduled to be held by December 2023.
The Jamaat-e-Islami had earlier announced they will not contest the elections saying it would not be free and fair.
Last week, volunteer wing chief of the BNP, Abdul Kader Bhuiyan, asked party supporters to re-enact the 1975 incident and said, “Time is appropriate — take up arms and restage another 1975” in a speech at the National Press Club.
He was alluding to the violent coup that year that led to the massacre of founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family. Only his two daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Rehana, escaped the bloodbath because they were away in Europe.
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No top leader from the BNP has offered an apology over Bhuiyan’s comments.
The Awami League held a countrywide protest on Saturday in response to the threat by the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s daughter Sheikh Hasina Wazed has been serving as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2009. Hasina has survived 19 assassination attempts during her tenure, with the grenade attack on her rally on August 21, 2004 being the most fatal till date.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh intelligence is anticipating a fresh spell of violence ahead of the June 25 opening of the railroad bridge on the Padma River.