Ex-CJ Khairul Haque to stand trial for “killing” democracy: Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday said former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque will be tried for killing democracy in Bangladesh if a pro-people and democratic government returns to power.

“On this day (Jan 5) in 2014, the illegitimate government of Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, killed democracy. A deceptive and farcical election was held on that day to completely depoliticise Bangladesh and remove it from the list of fully democratic countries,” he said.

Speaking at a human-chain programme, the BNP leader said Awami League had made an arrangement for holding the national election under a party government revoking the caretaker government system to avoid its sure defeat.

“Then Chief Justice Khairul Haque played the main role in this regard. If a democratic and genuine people's government comes to power in the future, Justice Khairul Haque will be tried for killing democracy and snatching people’s voting rights,” he added.

As part of their countrywide programme, BNP’s Dhaka south and north city units formed the human chain in front of the Jatiya Press Club, registering their protest against the “unilateral” 10th parliament election held on January 5, 2014.

Most registered political parties, including BNP, boycotted the 10th parliamentary election as it was held under a partisan government, annulling the caretaker government system following a court order.

However, Awami League and its political allies joined the election in which 153 MPs out of 300 seats got elected uncontested.

Fakhrul said the political parties boycotted the national election in 2014 as it was a ‘stage-managed’ one to keep a particular party in power. “Voters did not turn up at the polling stations. The pictures that were published in the newspapers on the day after the election showed dogs lying at voting centres.”

Narrating the political context in 2014, he said UN Special Envoy Oscar Farnandez Taranco visited Bangladesh and had meetings with the Awami League and BNP before the January-5 election.

“At that meeting, the Awami League promised the United Nations to hold a fresh election three months after the January-5 one in consultation with the opposition. They didn’t do that. They deceived people. Awami League has always deceived people and snatched their rights,” Fakhrul said.

Stating that democracy was the main spirit of the Liberation War, he alleged that Awami League had established one-party Baksal rule in 1975 snatching people’s rights and destroying democracy in a planned way. “Now they’ve ruined all the democratic institutions to restore the one-party rule in a different style.”

Fakhrul called upon people from all walks of life to get ready for an all-out movement to overcome the current situation of the country.