BNP will form a judicial commission to reform the judiciary, the party promised in the election manifesto unveiled today.
It will place the control of the lower judiciary on the Supreme Court instead of the president through amendment of the constitution.
It will put in place a institutional system to appoint efficient judges to remove the current case backlog, the party said in its manifesto.
Dhaka city dwellers are leaving the city for their home in masses ahead of the upcoming general election to be held on Sunday.
The home rush began yesterday, as the two weekends, today and tomorrow, make up an ideal three-day holiday to visit ancestral homes.
Because many of the dwellers are voters of their home districts, they must travel back to their home land to cast their ballot and exercise their franchise.
READ MORE: Festive atmosphere indeed!!
People were seen gathering on all the exit points of the city. Gabtoli, Kamlapur and Sadarghat were teeming with outbound people since this morning.
The home-goers are expecting to enjoy happy times with their near and dear ones along with exercising their democratic rights to vote.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has announced a ban on the inclusion of leaders and activists from other political parties or non-political individuals into the party until further notice.
The directive was issued through a press release yesterday evening, signed by BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
In the statement, Rizvi said, "For the information of all leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its affiliated and associate organisations, this is to inform that until further notice, no leader or activist of any other political party or any non-political individual can be included in any committee of the BNP from the ward to the national level, or in the committees of its affiliated and associate organisations from the ward to the central level."
The BNP has instructed all its leaders, activists, as well as those in its affiliated and associate organisations to strictly adhere to this decision.
Besides, the party has announced a nationwide prayer program after the Friday prayers for those killed in the quota reform protests and pray for the recovery of the injured.
BNP reshuffled its central executive committee yesterday, a day after dissolving some city units over their failure to make the anti-government movement a success.
A total of 39 party leaders got new positions.
This sudden reshuffle has caused commotion within the party as acting chairman Tarique Rahman is restructuring the committees, keeping the senior leaders in the dark, BNP insiders said.
They said the issue was not discussed at the meetings of the standing committee, the party's highest policymaking body.
According to the party charter, the acting chairperson will discharge all the duties of the chairperson in the absence of the latter.
And Tarique is now invoking that provision, said party sources.
The BNP charter gives the chairperson the authority to scrap any committee anytime, and the decision would be approved at the subsequent council.
The reshuffle brought younger leaders to important positions, while those with strong organisational abilities have been made advisers to the chairperson, BNP insiders said.
Some leaders who were selected for advisory roles believe they were assigned these positions as a form of punishment.
Apart from the executive body, BNP's international affairs committee has also been restructured. Party sources said the move was made because of the previous committee's failure to maintain close ties with the western countries, China and India.
BNP standing committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan will basically lead the committee to strengthen the relationship with those nations. However, Tarique is the chairman of the committee.
Soon after the January 7 national election, Tarique started working on restructuring the party's executive committee. There will be significant changes in the full committee in phases, with the introduction of new members, said a BNP leader familiar with the issue.
"Young leaders loyal to Tarique Rahman will be given important positions," said a senior BNP leader wishing not to be named.
A number of mid-ranking influential BNP leaders said Tarique is in fact building his own circle by restructuring the committees to establish his absolute control over the party.
"He is doing this to make sure nobody challenges his decisions in future," said a BNP leader.
Many committees have already expired since the party held its last national council in 2017.
The BNP constitution stipulates that a council should be held every three years. However, restructuring of its committees are being announced through press releases.
"The issue of reorganising was discussed at the party forum, but we were not informed when and how it would happen," a senior leader told The Daily Star yesterday wishing anonymity.
Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, a standing committee member, said the decision on revamping the party was made earlier and is now being put into action.
On Thursday night, BNP dissolved the convening committees of its Dhaka south and north city units. It also announced dissolution of the convening committees of its Chattogram and Barishal city units.
The central committee of Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, led by President Sultan Salahuddin Tuku and General Secretary Abdul Monayem Munna, has also been dissolved.
Some BNP leaders, including Zahir Uddin Swapan, Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Mujibur Rahman Sarwar, Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, and Ruhul Quddus Talukder Dulu, have been made adviser to the party chairperson.
Some party leaders said Swapan, Khokon, Sarwar and Alal have been punished through these appointments.
Syed Emran Saleh Prince and Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie have been promoted to joint secretaries general from organising secretaries.
Meanwhile, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, BNP's student front, announced its full-fledged 260-member committee yesterday, about three and a half months after the formation of its partial committee.
Rakibul Islam Rakib and Nasir Uddin Nasir have been made president and general secretary of the new committee respectively.
As many as 41 leaders have been given the posts of vice president, one has been made senior joint general secretary, and 111 have been named as joint general secretaries.
BNP candidates for Manikganj-1 Khondaker Akter Hamid Dablu allegedly came under attack today.
Dablu claimed that criminals fired gunshots at his car twice in Ghior upazila town and Mohadevpur area of Shivalaua upzila while he was returning home from Daulatpur upazila nirbahi officer’s office this afternoon.
However, the two bullets missed his car, he said adding that he informed Manikganj police superintendent about the attacks.
Contacted, Rifat Rahman Shamim, superintendent of police in Manikganj, said that after investigation, police couldn't find any evidence of such incident.
The BNP, if voted to power, will bring sweeping reforms to strengthen democracy, make parliament effective, establish the rule of law and ensure independence of the judiciary, according to its manifesto for the December 30 polls.
In the manifesto, the party pledges to protect freedom of speech and expression by scrapping what it says are black laws including Digital Security Act, Special Powers Act and Official Secrets Act.
It also promises to form a commission to restructure the administration and decentralise power by making local government bodies stronger.
“I am announcing the manifesto on behalf of former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and I want to assure you that no revenge will be taken on anyone if the BNP is voted to power,” said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at a press conference at a city hotel.
Since Khaleda's taking the helm of the BNP in 1984, this is first time the party announced its election manifesto when she is behind bars.
The BNP chief has been in jail since February 8 being convicted in a graft case. Her hope of participating in the polls has been diminished as the High Court yesterday summarily rejected three writ petitions challenging the Election Commission decision that upheld the cancellation of her nomination papers by returning officers.
“We hope that you [people] will cast your votes for establishing honour and dignity of Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman,” Fakhrul said.
BROKEN PROMISES
In the manifesto, the BNP says annual wealth statements of prime minister, ministers, lawmakers and high government officials will be made public every year.
The party had made such a pledge in the run-up to the 2001 parliamentary polls. But it seemed to have forgotten that after assuming office.
The manifesto says the party will scrap the Special Powers Act, 1974. It made the promise earlier in 2001.
While in office from 2001 to 2006, the party did not ensure the separation of the judiciary from the executive branch.
It now pledges to place the lower judiciary under the control of the Supreme Court instead of the president through an amendment to the constitution.
A commission will be formed to bring necessary reforms to the judicial system, according to the manifesto.
The party will put in place an institutional system to appoint efficient judges to remove the current case backlog.
The manifesto says the party will stop extrajudicial killings, a menace that began when the BNP was in power in 2001-06. It did not take any step to prevent its recurrence.
It promises to ensure freedom of speech and lift all restrictions on social media use to let people express their opinion freely.
But it is the BNP-led government that enacted the Information Technology Act in 2006 keeping section 57, a controversial provision widely abused to gag freedom of speech and expression in recent years.
If voted to power, the party wants to introduce a “new model” of politics free from vengeance and revenge.
For this, it wants to form a “national commission” to reach a social agreement and introduce a new political culture. The commission will be formed with the leader of the House, the opposition leader and eminent citizens of the country.
But when the party was in power, a heinous grenade attack was carried out on the then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina's rally on August 24, 2004 in an attempt to assassinate her.
A number of BNP leaders and senior officials of intelligence agencies were allegedly engaged in the conspiracy to launch the attack.
The BNP promises to introduce an election-time caretaker government in consultation with all the other political parties.
Interestingly, the party was blamed for doctoring the now defunct non-partisan caretaker government system in 2004. In that year, the BNP-led government had increased the retirement age of the Supreme Court judges by amending the constitution.
This had ensured that a certain chief justice would assume office of the chief adviser after his retirement during the 2007 parliamentary polls.
The then AL-led opposition strongly opposed it and launched massive street agitations. The country was plunged into chaos.
The BNP, however, now seeks to introduce a “future-oriented” political culture which would be against the politics of vengeance and revenge.
It pledges to promote a culture of tolerance in politics which will encourage political leaders not to make objectionable comments on national leaders.
On Monday, Jatiya Oikyafront, a combine of BNP and some other political parties, rolled out its electoral manifesto. Most of the promises of Oikyafront are similar to that of BNP.
Both the alliance and the party pledge to appoint ombudsman, a constitutional post to ensure transparency in the administration.
BNP's promises also include ensuring the balance between the powers of the president and the prime minister by amending the constitution.
In 2002, the then ruling BNP was widely criticised for forcing Badruddoza Chowdhury to step down as president.
It also promises to check corruption.
But during its 2001-06 term, Tarique Rahman, elder son of Khaleda, set up an alternative centre of power. It was Hawa Bhaban, a two-storey building in Gulshan, which eventually became a symbol of corruption, reckless power abuse and patronising terrorism.
Though Oikyafront promised to continue the war crimes trial, BNP manifesto remains silent on this.
The party says steps will be taken so that one-party rule doesn't return to the country. No person will hold the post of prime minister for more than two consecutive terms, and the deputy speaker will be picked from the opposition.
The promises also include restoration of referendum system in the constitution for establishing people's democratic rights, introduction of upper chamber of the House involving people of all walks of life, increased representation of women in all constitutional institutions.
Like the Oikyafront, it also pledges to amend article 70 of the constitution to allow a lawmaker to vote against his party in parliament on issues except for finance bill and no-confidence motions against the government.
The party pledges to make public the probe reports on BDR carnage and Bangladesh Bank reserve heist and conduct more investigation into the incidents.
It also vows to place honest and efficient people in the boards of state-owned banks and Securities and Exchange Commission to prevent recurrence of share market and banking scams.
The party also says it will stop political intervention in running state-owned banks. The banking division of the finance ministry will be abolished to vest all powers in the central bank to run and oversee the banking system.
If BNP forms government, GDP growth will be pushed to 11 percent, reads the manifesto.
The party also promises to investigate “any corruption in the ongoing mega projects” although it will not stop any work in progress. After probe, the culprits will be brought to justice.
It will form a committee to review the projects taken up in haste in the last two years of the current government.
A taskforce will investigate the reasons for high cost of quick rental power projects, its manifesto said.
The BNP will bring all the foreign workers under work permit to stop money laundering and will bring them under the tax net.
It also promises to withdraw all the cases filed against students during the protests over VAT exemption, quota reform and road safety.
The party says special measures will be taken to ensure uninterrupted traffic movement when the president or the prime minister commutes.
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