Dhaka: BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed today emphasized that the decision on whether the next national election should be conducted under the Proportional Representation (PR) system rests with the people. “BNP believes in resolving the matter through dialogue. If there is a demand for elections under the PR system, the people will decide. We believe the issue should be resolved at the negotiation table,” said Salahuddin as the chief guest at a dialogue hosted by Tarunner Rashtrya Chinta at the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) in the city.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the BNP leader criticized Jamaat-e-Islami’s stance, describing their simultaneous calls for dialogue and protests as contradictory. He questioned Jamaat’s reluctance to participate in the elections if they were confident of winning. “If Jamaat is confident about winning the election, they should participate. Why are they refraining from contesting and instead creating obstacles with various excuses? One cannot engage in both dialogue and protest at the same time. It’s self-contradictory,” he remarked.
Salahuddin also voiced his concerns about student representatives joining the government, a move he sees as conflicting with democratic practices. “In democratic practice, it is unheard of for someone to be part of both the ruling party and the opposition. The day student representatives joined the government, I realized they could no longer contribute to true nation-building,” he stated, highlighting the need for these representatives to recognize their responsibility and step down.
Reaffirming BNP’s commitment to democratic values, Salahuddin stressed the importance of maintaining a clear distinction between government and opposition roles. “There can be no coexistence of government and opposition within the same entity. No political party should impose its demands on the nation. We must uphold anti-fascist national unity and avoid creating a political crisis,” he asserted.