Minister for Road Transport and Bridges Obaidul Quader said on Wednesday that the government didn’t bow down before any pressure and even won’t do so now.
He came up with the remark while talking to journalists after the inaugural ceremony of ‘Road Safety Project’ at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.
Regarding the release of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, the minister said Bangladesh didn’t interfere in any country’s internal affairs.
“Intervention by other countries on internal affairs of Bangladesh is not considered as logical. Khaleda Zia’s issue is our internal matter,” said Quader, also general secretary of the ruling Awami League (AL).
Regarding the democracy of the US, the minister questioned, “What happened there in the name of democracy on January 6? Six lives were left. Donald Trump has yet to accept the defeat in the election.”
Acknowledging some flaws in democratic systems existing in Bangladesh, he said they have been trying to make the democracy free from flaws, and the Election Commission is independent.
Urging the BNP to take part in the next national election, the AL general secretary said that the BNP will have to participate in the election to probe how much popularity they have.
He claimed that the BNP’s allegations that the AL kept Khaleda Zia in jail and excluded the caretaker system are both lies.
About the government’s stance on Jamaat-e-Islami, the AL general secretary said the EC cancelled this party’s registration but this issue is under trial in the High Court.
Replying to a question about the letter from the UN Human Rights Commission, Quader put forward a counter question saying, “Do we run as per order and prescription of the UN Human Rights Commission?”
Chaired by Road and Highway Division Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, its Additional Chief Engineer Abdullah Al Mamun, Additional Inspector General of Police (crime and operations) Atiqul Islam and BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Majumdar, among others, spoke at the event.
