BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas on Friday said only one person in the country does not want the next national election to be held by December next.

“He (Prof Yunus) claimed that only one party (BNP) wants an election. But we say only one person doesn’t want an election—and that person is Dr Yunus,” he said after paying tribute at the grave of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on the occasion of his 44th death anniversary.

Mirza Abbas said it’s very unfortunate to see Muhammad Yunus, sitting in Japan, defaming BNP. “He (Yunus) did not feel even a little shame in defaming the country while sitting abroad,” he said in a reaction to Chief Adviser Prof Yunus’s remark that just one party wants the election by December next.

Criticising the Chief Adviser’s remarks, Abbas said BNP has always demanded that the next election be held by December. It was Prof Yunus himself who first proposed the December timeline. “Later, he (Prof Yunus) shifted it to June,” he claimed.

“If you talk about (holding) the election in June, it will never happen in Bangladesh. So, if there is to be an election, it must be held by December,” said the BNP leader.

He warned that the people of Bangladesh would compel the government to hold the election on time. “We, the people of this country, will realise this election. Otherwise, the country’s territorial integrity will not remain intact,” he said.

Some persons 'imported' for reforms

Abbas criticised the current government for bringing foreign consultants to implement reform initiatives. “This government has imported many persons to carry out reforms,” he said.

“I would like to say with pride that President Ziaur Rahman implemented many reforms in the country’s different sectors, but he had never brought in any consultant from foreign land,” Abbas said.

BNP leaders led by Mirza Abbas paid tribute to Ziaur Rahman on his martyrdom day. BNP Standing Committee members Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Salahuddin Ahmed and AZM Zahid Hossain, among others, were present.

They offered floral wreaths at the grave and joined a prayer session seeking eternal peace for the departed leader. Later, they participated in a doa mahfil organised by Jatiyatabadi Ulama Dal.

President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated on May 30, 1981, in Chattogram Circuit House by a group of army officers.