Bangladesh Burns during Opposition-backed Two-Day Bandh, False Allegations Raised Against India

Bangladesh Burns during Opposition-backed Two-Day Bandh, False Allegations Raised Against India

Bangladesh’s opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), accused India of siding with the authoritarian government led by the nation’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina.

BNP’s senior joint secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday without any evidence alleged that India has decided to take “a position against the people of Bangladesh”. “The Indian government and their politicians should understand why the people of Bangladesh have burst into anger against them. By supporting an authoritarian government, they [India] have taken a stance against the people of Bangladesh,” Rizvi was quoted as saying by Bangladesh-based newspaper The Daily Star.

It should be noted that the BNP is not taking part in the elections and said it will only take part in the elections if Hasina resigns and lets a neutral government run the polls. BNP, with support from Islamist outfit Jamaat-e-Islami, held mass protests demanding the resignation of Hasina and setting up of a caretaker regime for polls.

However, Bangladesh abolished the caretaker system by the 15th Amendment to its constitution in 2011. The government feels that these demands are unconstitutional.

BNP has alleged that about half of its five million members “face politically motivated prosecution” and the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday that the government has launched a violent crackdown on opposition parties to “eliminate competition” ahead of general elections scheduled to be held on January 7.

HRW claims it based its report on multiple witness interviews, as well as analysis of videos and police reports.

However, the Bangladesh election commission has urged the BNP to join the polls. “There is still time… If they join, the election will be festive… It will be a blessing for the Election Commission and for the entire nation if the party joins,” Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal said.

Violent Two-Day Bandh

A microbus carrying a doctor and two CNG-run auto-rickshaws were set ablaze in Sylhet by members of the Swecchasebak Dal, a party sympathetic to the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. “The vehicle was carrying a female doctor to the hospital when the miscreants attacked. The doctor remained unhurt, but the driver was injured while he was trying to douse the blaze,” Dr Tareq Azad, director of Jalalabad Ragib Rabeya Medical College Hospital, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The BNP and other opposition parties have called for a two-day bandh starting Sunday in Bangladesh. There have been incidents of arson by unknown miscreants in several regions of Bangladesh.

A report by The Daily Star said 10 vehicles were torched in various areas of the country, including Dhaka, on the first day of the bandh. Fifteen fire engines and 75 personnel helped douse the fire.

A total of 230 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were deployed across the country today to help law enforcers maintain law and order on Monday, which is the second day of the bandh.