Postponement of polls will give rise to fascism: Salahuddin

BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed has said that if the upcoming national parliamentary election is postponed in any way, it will lead to the rebirth of fascism. 

"If the election is delayed, fascism will be reborn.  Then the fallen fascism will get an opportunity, which is in no way desirable," he said at a discussion on Saturday.

The National Democratic Party (NDP) arranged the event marking the 37th founding anniversary of the party at the Engineers Institution auditorium.

Regarding the amendment of the Constitution, Salahuddin said, "None of us has the right to change the country’s Constitution without legal and constitutional process.”

“If this happens, after two years or five years, the demand to change the Constitution through this process will repeatedly arise," he opined.

Salahuddin said common people have expressed their opinion through a mass uprising. Whenever we talk about a legitimate process, some say people’s desires are final. 

“Yes, the people’s desire is final, and the desire was expressed through the July mass uprising. It is true that the interim government has been formed as desired by the people. But to implement that desire, we had to follow Article 106 of the Constitution. Under Article 106, the interim government has been formed based on the Supreme Court's opinion, and accordingly, the swearing-in of the advisers took place. It’s the legitimate process," he clarified.

About the party’s position on the issues of the Proportional Representation (PR) system, the senior BNP leader questioned, "Can we demand a system that 56 per cent of the people of Bangladesh don't even understand? So, none should confuse the nation by talking about the matter," he said.

The BNP leader urged all to return to the right path for the sake of protecting the interests of the people of Bangladesh.

About holding the next election based on the implementation of the July Charter, the BNP leader said the matters agreed upon through the National Consensus Commission are already being implemented.

"The constitutional part of the July Charter should be implemented by the next parliament through constitutional amendment, and this particular task must be given to the next parliament,” he said.

NDP Chairman Abdullah Al Harun presided over the event. General Secretary of the Gono Adhikar Parishad Rashed Khan, President of Jatiya Ganatantrik Party Khandkar Lutfur Rahman, and General Secretary of Bangladesh Samyabadi Dal Syed Nurul Islam, among others, spoke on the occasion.