Chairman of Jatiya Party and Deputy Leader of Opposition in Parliament GM Quader said that the people of the country want freedom from the hands of Awami League and BNP. Because these two groups are continuing the continuation of misdeeds, corruption, terrorism and looting. A change in power does not change this situation. People of the country are now thinking of Jatiya Party as an alternative force. They want to see Jatiya Party in power.
He also said that it has already been proved that Jatiya Party has been able to provide more democracy, good governance and development in the country than Awami League and BNP. Expectations of the people of the country will be able to deliver in the future. Awami League and BNP are back-and-forths of stagnant money. People of the country want shiny new money. People of the country are looking towards political power like Jatiya Party.
GM Quader said these things during the discussion meeting organized on the occasion of the 36th founding anniversary of the Jatiya Party at the Auditorium of the Engineers Institution in Ramna of the capital on Saturday.
He also said that crores are unemployed, there is no employment. Youth society is getting addicted to drugs due to scarcity. Involved in unethical activities. The price of goods is increasing by leaps and bounds every day. Gas, water and electricity bills are increasing, but people’s incomes are not increasing. Common people are happy to live with family. When the price of oil increases in the world market, the price of oil is increased, but when the price of oil in the world market decreases, the price of oil in the country is not reduced. The crop which the farmer sells at Tk 5 per kg is being sold at Tk 60 to Tk 70 per kg in the capital.
‘Public transport anarchy is not stopping due to reckless extortion. It is not clear who controls public transport. The people of the country do not believe that the government is running the public transport, rather it seems that those who control the public transport control the relevant departments of the government for their own interests. Ordinary traders have become hostages in the hands of extortionists. No one can even build a house on his own land without paying subscription. Extortion and violence of middlemen in the supply of agricultural products. Small businessmen are helpless in reckless extortion on the sidewalk, as if there is no one to watch. The root cause of these is the lack of accountability of the government, the absence of rule of law in general.’
Chairman of Jatiya Party said that employment should be increased in the country. Investment friendly environment should be created. Foreign investors should be encouraged. It is said by the government that GDP has increased, if GDP increases, people’s stomachs are not full. It appears that if GDP increases, common people do not benefit, so common people have no interest in GDP. The main benefit of GDP growth or high levels of employment and business opportunities is that it is not growing at that rate. No role of growth in solving the unemployment problem is noticeable.
The opposition deputy leader of the parliament also said that the ruling party does not allow dissidents to stand in the election. They want to win without competition by force of power. Somewhere the rulers are corrupting the electoral system with the help of the administration. Members of the administration and law enforcement agencies are involved in vote rigging and mismanagement of elections – it is a shame for the nation.
“The Election Commission has lost the confidence of the people. Once the election was a celebration, now the election is the name of fear and panic. People of the country do not want bloody elections. The people of the country do not like the election of murderers. The electoral system of the country has been corrupted by the game of power and black money. It is a shame that even in fifty years of independence, the constitution of the Election Commission is not a law.’
He said that during the Corona period, it has been proved how fragile the health care of our country is. Our demand is to arrange all kinds of tests in every upazila level hospital. All government hospitals including upazila should have ICU system. Health care should be provided by MBBS pass doctors at union level. Necessary number of doctors, nurses and technologists should be appointed. The people of the country have come to know the news of serious looting in the witness sector. We want to know what action the government has taken against the long-standing corrupt in the health sector.
GM Quader said, at the beginning of the corona epidemic, the nation heard only ‘no’ and ‘no’. We want to ensure all types of tests in every government hospital. Medical services should be improved so that the people of the country do not go abroad for treatment.
He said that the Jatiya Party was in power for about 4 years in the 35 years since its birth. The party was out of power for the next 31 years. On December 6, 1990, the party stepped down from power under the condition that elections would be held under a neutral caretaker government based on a three-coalition framework in which all political parties and personalities would be elected on equal footing and the winning party would form the government, systematically in a constitutional manner. The three alliances broke their promises. Later, imprisonment, torture and various adversities were created for the Jatiya Party. Nevertheless, the Jatiya Party won a significant number of seats in the 1991 elections. It managed to come second in many seats with a very narrow margin of votes. Even though he could not come to power for the next 31 years, he continues to play a significant role in the politics of Bangladesh as a controlling power. What could be the reason for this?
GM Quader said, Bangladesh was relatively good in terms of democracy practice and public welfare activities during the 4 years that the Jatiya Party government managed until the handover of power after making its debut.
He said, democracy means people’s rule. The state will be governed according to the expectations of the people through the representatives of the people, that is the practice of democracy. 100% democracy is never possible. As all the people of the country cannot manage the country together. Again, everyone’s expectations will not be the same. As a result, it is impossible to implement. However, the more people feel that their representatives are reflecting their wishes/reluctance in state activities, the better democracy is being practiced. Accordingly, if the majority of the people of the country have such a perception that the people’s representatives are governing according to the people’s expectations, then it can only be said that the democratic governance system is functioning acceptably. For this, there must be constant accountability of the government to the people.
The deputy leader of the opposition party said that today, coming to the 50th year of independence or the golden jubilee, it can be said that the practice of democracy in Bangladesh has never been at an acceptable level since independence. In a word, no democracy has ever been practiced in Bangladesh. The main reason for this is our constitution. Emphasis is placed on the practice of democracy as a fundamental principle of the Constitution and in various ways. But on the whole various provisions of the constitution have given preference to the practice of dictatorship over the practice of democracy. Although many changes have been brought through various amendments, no measures have been taken to create opportunities for practicing democracy, but in some cases, the government has narrowed the opportunities for practicing democracy. Institutions supporting the practice of democracy have been progressively weakened and almost destroyed.
He said that the people of the country have achieved democracy to some extent during the period of Jatiya Party’s governance. The rights of the people were relatively certain. People have enjoyed much better governance. There was rule of law. All were equal in the eyes of the law and were subject to the law. There was less discrimination in the society overall, there was justice.
A discussion meeting was organized on the occasion of the foundation anniversary at Engineers Institution auditorium in Ramna at 3 pm. At the end of the discussion, a wonderful cultural program was organized at the same place.
Presidium member of Jatiya Party Rezaul Islam Bhuiyan and Joint Secretary General Golam Mohammad Raju also spoke at the meeting – Senior Co-Chairman of Jatiya Party Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud MP, Jatiya Party Secretary General Md. Mujibul Haque Chunnu MP, Former State Minister and Jatiya Party Co-Chairman Advocate Salma Islam MP, Co-Chairman ABM Ruhul Amin Howladar, Co-Chairman Advocate Kazi Firoz Rashid MP, Co-Chairman Syed Abu Hussain Babla MP, Jatiya Party Presidium Member Sahidur Rahman. Tepa, Sheikh Muhammad Sirajul Islam, Mir Abdus Sabur Asud, Haji Saifuddin Ahmed Milan, Liaquat Hossain Khoka MP, Chairman’s Adviser Sherifa Quader MP, Zahirul Alam Rubel, Vice-Chairman Jahangir Alam Pathan, National Youth Solidarity Convener HM Shahriar Asif, National Volunteer Party General Secretary Md. Belal Hossain, general secretary of Jatiya Sramik Party. Jahangir Hossain, President of Jatiya Chhatra Samaj Ibrahim Khan Jewel.
Presidium member Sunil Shubo Roy, Najma Akhter MP, Alamgir Sikder Lawton, Major (retd.) Rana Md. Sohel MP, Advisor Roshan Ara Mannan MP, MA Quddus, Nurul Islam Milan, Dr. Nurul Azhar Shamim, Monirul Islam Milon, Mehjabin Morshed Ibrahim, Nazneen Sultana, Hena Khan Panni, Israfil Khokon, Amanat Hossain Amanat, Lucky Begum, Eng. Sirajul Haque, Dr. Rustam Ali Faraji MP.